Another list of sources of DRM-free digital medias - Lemmy.World
The pinned post hasn’t been updated in a few months now, so making this new one.
Also will be updating here while the pinned post isn’t updated. Sources will be
divided into categories based on content types available, and so a same source
may appear in multiple categories. And if a category becomes too overarching,
please suggest how to better divide! Also some cases of DRM are blurrier. Some
may consider DRM-free as simply not requiring validation, while watermarks and
other means of tracking the owner if the files are leaked may be seen as DRM to
others. When I know about such cases, I will include the source in the list but
with a note about the potential DRM measure. And removing SomaFM until I figure
out if it indeed allows downloading contents DRM-free. And lastly, quoting the
OP, additions are welcome! Please post in the comments if you’re missing any.
While I realize other sources and shadow libraries exist, I want this list to be
about supporting the sites, stores and authors that make an effort to supply
legal, DRM-free alternatives. Now, onto the list! ::: spoiler Audiobooks -
LibriVox [https://librivox.org/] (Narrated public domain eBooks) - Libro FM
[https://libro.fm/] ::: ::: spoiler Ebooks - 7switch [https://7switch.com/] -
Angry Robot [https://angryrobotbooks.com/] - Baen Books [https://www.baen.com/]
- Brandon Sanderson on Bookshop.org
[https://bookshop.org/beta-search?keywords=Brandon+Sanderson] (Sci-Fi, US-only)
- Brandon Sanderson on eBooks.com
[https://www.ebooks.com/en-se/searchapp/searchresults.net?term=brandon+sanderson]
(Sci-Fi) - Cory Doctorow [https://craphound.com/shop/] (Sci-Fi) - Delphi
Classics [http://delphiclassics.com/] - Dystopia Editions [https://dystopia.fr/]
(Sci-Fi/Fantasy) - Ebooks libres et gratuits [https://www.ebooksgratuits.com/]
(French Public Domain) - Ebooks.com DRM-Free section
[https://www.ebooks.com/en-us/drm-free/] - Fanatical’s ebook bundles
[https://www.fanatical.com/bundle/books] - French Bibiliothèque Nationale’s
Gallica [https://gallica.bnf.fr/accueil/fr/html/accueil-fr] (French Public
Domain) - Greg Egan [https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/nagegerg] (Sci-Fi)
- Gumroad [https://gumroad.com/] [see this
[https://gumroad.com/help/article/130-pdf-stamping]] - Honor Raconteur
[https://www.honorraconteur.com/] (Fantasy/YA) - Humble Bundle’s ebook bundles
[https://www.humblebundle.com/books/] - IndieGala book bundles
[https://www.indiegala.com/] - Itch comics [https://itch.io/comics] & books
[https://itch.io/books] - Juliet Marillier [https://julietmarillier.com/]
(Fantasy) - Kobo’s DRM free section [https://www.kobo.com/us/en/p/drm-free] - La
bibliothèque numérique Romande [https://ebooks-bnr.com/] (Swiss fiction) - Le
Belial [https://belial.fr/rayon/livres-numeriques-et-audio] (Sci-Fi/Fantasy) -
Les classiques des sciences social [https://classiques.uqam.ca/], with a large
selection of essays and academic papers - Litteraturbanken
[https://litteraturbanken.se/] (Swedish Public Domain) - Nasjionalbiblioteket
[https://www.nb.no/search?mediatype=b%C3%B8ker] (Norwegian Public Domain) -
Project Gutenberg Australia [https://gutenberg.net.au/] (Australian Public
Domain) - Project Gutenberg Canada [https://gutenberg.ca/index.html] (Canadian
Public Domain) - Project Gutenberg [http://www.gutenberg.org/] (American/General
Public Domain, has many other countries and languages as well) - Runeberg
[https://runeberg.org/] (Swedish Public Domain) - Smashwords
[https://www.smashwords.com/] - Standard eBooks [https://standardebooks.org/]
(Formatted Public Domain eBooks) - StoryBundle [https://storybundle.com/] - The
Anarchist Library [http://theanarchistlibrary.org/special/index] - The Internet
Archive [https://archive.org/] - The National Library of Finland
[https://digi.kansalliskirjasto.fi/etusivu?set_language=en] (Finnish Public
Domain) - Tor Books [https://torpublishinggroup.com/] - Weightless Books
[https://weightlessbooks.com/] (Sci-Fi magazines) - note from the original post:
A note, if your native language is for example German, Swedish, Norwegian,
Danish, Polish or similar, you can usually find DRM-free ebooks in your native
language through your national stores. The ePubs are usually just watermarked.
This might be applicable to other countries as well, even though I’m aware that
some countries like Japan or South Korea have even stricter DRM schemes than the
English-speaking world. - another note: More on DefectiveByDesign
[https://www.defectivebydesign.org/guide/ebooks], Libreture
[https://libreture.com/bookshops/] and ButtonDown
[https://buttondown.com/weirdwriter/archive/some-drm-free-bookstores-and-publishers/]
::: ::: spoiler Games - 6502 Workshop [https://www.6502workshop.com/] -
Alivesoft [https://alivesoft.com/] - Amazon US [https://www.amazon.com/] [see
notes] - Bitmap Bureau [https://shop.bitmapbureau.com/] - Caravel Games
[https://caravelgames.com/Articles/Games.html] - Crytivo
[https://crytivo.com/en/games] - Enlight Games [https://www.enlight.com/] - Epic
Games Store [https://store.epicgames.com/en-US] (see notes) - Fireflower Games
[https://fireflowergames.com/] - GOG [https://www.gog.com/] - Humble Bundle
[https://www.humblebundle.com/store/] (includes Android games and GOG keys) -
Humble Widgets (widgets for developers to sell games on their sites; may have
games not directly on Humble Bundle) - IndieGala freebies
[https://freebies.indiegala.com/] & showcases
[https://www.indiegala.com/showcase] (they overlap btw) - Itch
[https://itch.io/games/] (incl. also Android games, homebrews, fantasy consoles,
etc.) - Learn Japanese to Survive! [https://study-japanese.net/] - Legacy Games
[https://legacygames.com/] [see this
[https://web.archive.org/web/20220417143321/https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/636030269823909921/965257949603827723/unknown.png],
a response to an email I sent them, and confirmed by myself with tests] -
Lexaloffle Games [https://www.lexaloffle.com/] [see notes] - MAME
[https://www.mamedev.org/roms/] - Matrix Games [https://www.matrixgames.com/] -
Neofid Studios [https://neofid-studios.com/collections] - Red Candle Games
[https://shop.redcandlegames.com/] - Retroarch through the frontend and maybe
through Libretro’s buildbot but yet to confirm on the latter. - RimWorld
[https://rimworldgame.com/] - Slitherine [https://www6.slitherine.com/] - Steam
[https://store.steampowered.com/] [see this
[https://steam.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_DRM-free_games]] - WinGameStore’s
DRM-free selection [https://www.wingamestore.com/listing/DRM-Free/] - Zoom
Platform [https://www.zoom-platform.com/] ::: ::: spoiler Music - 7digital UK
[https://uk.7digital.com/]/7digital US [https://us.7digital.com/] [change the
subdomain for other regions] - Amazon
[https://www.amazon.com/MP3-Music-Download/b?node=163856011] - Bandcamp
[https://bandcamp.com/] - GOG [https://www.gog.com/] [game OSTs] - Itch
[https://itch.io/soundtracks] - ITunes [https://music.apple.com/] [see notes] -
Nigel Stanford’s store [https://nigelstanford.com/] [musics and music videos] -
Ototoy [https://ototoy.jp/] - Qobuz [https://www.qobuz.com/shop] - Recochoku
[https://recochoku.jp/] [UI in Japanese and has site-wide geoblocking] - Red
Candle Games [https://shop.redcandlegames.com/] - Supraph Online
[https://www.supraphonline.cz/] [UI in Czech] - 着信★うた [https://uta.573.jp/] [UI
in Japanese] - Zoom Platform [https://www.zoom-platform.com/] [game OSTs] :::
::: spoiler Videos - ITunes for music videos [https://music.apple.com/] [see
this
[https://thebrainbin.org/m/[email protected]/t/1104648/-/comment/8184880]] -
Peertube for general videos [https://joinpeertube.org/] (each video has a
download button) - Recochoku for music videos [https://recochoku.jp/] [UI in
Japanese and has site-wide geoblocking] ::: ::: spoiler Misc - Itch game assets
[https://itch.io/game-assets], tabletop games [https://itch.io/physical-games],
tools [https://itch.io/tools] & other stuff [https://itch.io/misc] ::: :::
spoiler NSFW ones - Denpasoft [https://denpasoft.com/] - for manga and some
times games and other contents - DLsite [https://www.dlsite.com/] - mangas,
video games, OSTs (rarely), ASMR audio tracks, videos and game assets. Also see
notes. - Fakku [https://www.fakku.net/] - mainly mangas, some few games, and
rarely OSTs. - IndieGala [https://www.indiegala.com/store/category/adult] - for
games - Jast USA [https://www.jastusa.com/] - for games - Kagura Games (JP
[https://kaguragamesjp.com/] / International [https://www.kaguragames.com/]) -
MangaGamer [https://www.mangagamer.com/] - iirc exclusively for games - Nutaku
[https://www.nutaku.net/games/] - do note Android games always have DRM. Other
systems should be safe. - Winter Wolves [https://www.winterwolves.com/] - game
publisher store ::: ::: spoiler Notes - About Amazon US and games, it has a
selection of DRM-free games in the store, but they seem to be slowly delisting
the titles there, maybe due to most being at least about as young as Windows
Vista. - About DLsite, mangas that have DRM will have a light green box under
genres and file size, not mattering what the text says, and if using Dark
Reader, the box becomes dark green, contrasting much better with the UI. Games
and videos will have a blue box instead iirc, and with a much clearer and
consistent warning. And for all cases, if still in doubt, “file format” above
genres should help too. - About Itch, technically they don’t have policies
against DRM, but in what’s probably almost a decade using it, I can hardly
remember 4 titles which would use DRM. Numbers bloat if we consider titles that
only give keys for other services, which iirc is against the rules but have to
check, and games that run in the browser, but that through launchers (Itch app,
Kitch, Mitch for Android, etc.) or itch-dl
[https://github.com/DragoonAethis/itch-dl], you can download it to run as a
local HTML project. - About Epic Games Store, there is no way to know upfront
the DRM situation, so each games needs to be tested. Also iirc there are
community projects to catalogue such cases, but I don’t have any at hand. -
About ITunes, both musics and music videos require the ITunes app for IOS, MacOS
or Windows for buying and downloading. - About ITunes, at least on Windows 10,
Apple Music links can be opened as ITunes links by replacing https for start
itms and adding ?app=itunes at the end, and then running the resulting command
on Windows’ CMD. The same can’t be achieved with movies, and yet to test music
videos. - About Lexaloffle Games, only familiar with the PICO-8 side of the
site, and to get the file for a given game there, it can be downloaded if it has
a pink cartridge icon under their games’ respective web players. To do it, click
the icon, download the “image” that opens, and either run on the official
player, recompile through the PICO-8 player, or play through emulators. - About
Supraph Online, asked the guy behind IsThereAnyDeal once, and he said it’s a
company he sees retail stores in the Czech Republic, so appears legit to me. :::