I am an amateur video maker. I make home movies of our holidays, family functions etc. I give my videos to family members - no one would buy them anyway. I use Adobe Premier Pro CC to make my videos and have used music I had purchased from iTunes as sound tracks. Recently our family subscribed to Apple Music. Unfortunately when I “download” songs to use, I can’t import them into Premiere Pro CC. The problem is the audio files are “protected”. An internet search suggested Audacity could fix this, but importing one of these files into Audacity came up with the message “Audacity cannot open this file due to encryption”. Is there a work around? (I did a review of FAQ’s and couldn’t find this problem mentioned. I apologize in advance if I missed this topic.) Many thanks for any assistance. David
Audacity does not support encrypted files or DRM.
Audio files are sometimes encrypted to prevent digital copying, and in such cases it should be clear in the terms of sale / licensing terms, that copying the file is not permitted. If that is not clear in the terms, then you probably have a good case for demanding a refund. If the restriction is clear in their terms of sale, then making a copy would be unlawful (piracy).
For obvious reasons, we are not able to provide advice for unlawful copying of protected content.
It is a subscription so you don’t own the music. And if you let the subscription lapse you will no longer be able to play the songs so of course you’re not supposed to make “permanent” copies.
There are ways to copy the music. i.e. You can make an “analog” copy (or a digital-to-analog-to-digital copy) and their may be other methods, but it’s illegal to circumvent copy protection, and of course it’s a violation of your subscription agreement.
If you buy the songs from iTunes or Amazon, or if you buy a CD, they won’t be copy protected. (In the early days, iTunes purchases were copy protected, but no longer.)
You can make “personal use” copies non copy protected music that you own but it’s a copyright violation to distribute copies. “Technically”, that includes distributing copies to friends and family, but I won’t tell anybody. 