Not an Antipodes problem, but rather as a user of Hi-Res music.
Im in NZ, and over the last year+ I have used HDtracks as a source of HiRes music.
This month, apparently suddenly, most of its music (by my quick checks 95%+ )has now become unavailable - restricted because of country (DRM). Even albums I had previously bought are now restricted.
I guess someone flicked a switch.
After many messages to/from HDtracks support, they confirm anything new (or had bought) with that restriction is correct - ie not available for worldwide distribution.
So HDtracks is no longer a source of good music for me.
It is not a VPN problem, nor can a VPN circumvent my purchase.
Up till now I haven’t used streaming (Spotify/Tidal/Qobuz), preferring to keep local music. I might have to.
I don’t know how they could disable a bought and paid for product. If you purchased a CD from a physical store and moved from NZ to Japan, could the retailer take your CD from you! No. Something is just not right here. After all, the purchase is not in the Cloud; it resides on your hard drive.
That said, if my logic doesn’t prevail try Qobuz. When you purchase their premium plan you are able to download files at close to 40% off and they are always available to download again if need be. Unlike other hi-res stores.
It was OK when I bought the albums and I downloaded them successfully - so I got my purchase.
Its something that’s changed recently that’s changed the DRM status
I’m sorry to hear that, but something is just off. In any case I would insist that they refund your purchase and give you your money back. You bought a suit in a department store, paid for it and now the store sent agents to your home and took the suit back. It simply violates every business ethic that you should forfeit your money for a product for which you’ve paid. A refund is an order.
If the tracks that were purchased are protected by DRM, the terms of agreement likely indicated that the license could be revoked at any time.
DRM has largely died because of customer backlash over the fact that one didn’t really own the music they purchased. Most consumers now avoid DRM when they can. The only recourse might be to see if HDTracks might substitute non-DRM tracks for the DRM tracks.
FYI, part of one of the replies from HDtracks
"Hey Graham, at one point we operated separate domain names for US, DE, and UK regions to help separate the rights/reporting required for each region, but we have since consolidated into just the HDtracks.com store. Our distributors are required to have US distribution, but anything beyond that is up to their control. We can’t say for sure why your experience suddenly changed - all we can do is confirm that the region restrictions for albums are working correctly.
As far as a toggle to exclude unavailable items, that’s a feature we are looking into possibly adding in the future, but currently it is not possible."
Geez; had no idea and I have always approached paid for hi-res files I’ve downloaded on a “need to know” basis. Who knew? I have bought quite a few files from both HDTracks and ProStudioMasters over the years and never had an issue. Within the past year I have chosen to upgrade my Qobuz membership from Studio to Sublime. I ran the numbers and it only takes about 5 downloads for the extra cost to pay for itself. And I like that the files are ALWAYS available for download again should thinned arise.
I certainly didn’t know. My eyes nearly popped out of my head when I read above that HDTracks sold tracks with DRM. They have never done that in the US as far as I know.
I believe the OP is saying that he can no longer purchase from HDT
His previously bought stuff is ok.
This isn’t DRM but restrictions on which country you can purchase from.
I guess HDT gave an agreement with their suppliers to only sell to their home market.
Just choose someone else to buy your downloads from