When we write about stream-ripping, we tend to focus on YouTube, because that’s the platform that has attracted the most activity (and tools) for ripping streams into downloadable files – music included. However, there are also tools that are capable of ripping streams from audio services, and one of those services appears to be cracking down on the practice again.
Market Research Telecast picked up on a post on the forum of software firm Audials (slogan: “It’s my stream”) whose Audials Music product promises to save songs from Spotify, Amazon Music, SoundCloud, Tidal and Deezer as “a private copy” for users by recording the computer’s audio output.
According to Audials, Spotify has now been blocking people’s accounts who it detected using the software, with an email sent to some of them explaining that “your account was involved in an improper use of the Spotify service that violates the terms of use, including potentially improper downloads”. How does it detect them? Audials has a ‘high speed’ feature that speeds up playback on Spotify, making recording faster, but also enabling the DSP to spot, for example, listeners who have mysteriously played “50 minutes of music within five minutes” in Audial’s words.
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