“Yesterday, Apple sent out short notices to their iTunes partners who provide the music content to the iTunes store. The notices let partners know that they would soon be able to offer DRM-free music and DRM-free music videos to customers through iTunes,” arn reports for MacRumors.
Many of you have reached out to iTunes to find out how you can make your songs available higher quality and DRM-free. Starting next month, iTunes will begin offering higher-quality, DRM-free music and DRM-free music videos to all customers.
arn reports, “The new unrestricted format appears to be open to any publisher who is interested.”
Full article here.
Now THIS is a “tipping point” (copyright used by permission from R)
’bout time. Here’s hoping the same deal per EMI holds: we consumers can ‘upgrade’ to 256k DRM-less for $0.30 per.
Now SJ is just hitting Microsoft below the belt. How does MS even have a chance at creating a music distro monopoly if Steve Jobs is selling DRM-free music. SJ is such a coward. Can’t even compete when playing MS’s rules.
EMI will hold the place in the history books as the company that stopped the world going down the full DRM path. Apple will succeed because of EMI’s stance.
I hope Apple release a yellow Beatles iPhone.
@ HolyMackerel
A Sgt Peppers Lonley Heart Club Band iPhone, now that would be hot.
@HolyMackerel
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Just write “The Beatles” on the back of your iPod and you’ve already got a “White Album” iPod.
“…and the ‘Fool on the Hill’ — sees the sun going down — and the eyes in his head — sees the world spinning ’round ..”
I usually get my music illegally (don’t tell the fuzz), but recently I saw a band I really liked and I wanted to buy their cd. I didn’t have cash on me at the concert to buy it, so I decided to buy it later. Unfortunately the band is relatively unknown, so I couldn’t just walk into walmart and pickup a cd… the internet was my only option. I briefly considered iTunes, but I couldn’t bear the thought of paying money to buy an album with all of that drm. I ended up ordering the cd from a small online store. Now that iTunes is going to allow music without drm, I might give them more consideration when buying a cd than I previously have.
This DRM-free business is important news, but does it affect me? Since I use iPod and iTunes on a Mac, and plan to continue using them, the DRM limitations imposed by Apple are invisible to me. I can use up to 5 Macs per iTunes account (more than enough). I can burn songs to CD with essentially no restrictions (and I don’t burn music CDs anymore). I can transfer songs to an unlimited number of iPods that I own (I have several). I can back up the music files as many times as I want. Apple DRM does not affect me in any way.
The actual advantage of the recent EMI news is not the lack of DRM but the increase in audio quality. However, for that benefit you pay about 30% more and use twice as much disk space to store the music files. So for now, I’ll keep buying from iTunes using the 99-cent DRM’ed option. I can pay that extra cost and convert later, when (if) the increase in quality becomes more important and the increase storage requirement (especially on the iPod) becomes less important to me. DRM will not be the primary consideration for me
I’m waiting. I have bought a few comedy albums, but I haven’t bought very much music from iTunes. When they start selling non-DRM, higher quality AAC, I will buy stuff that I don’t already have on CD.
Bring it on.
http://mytop-in.net/go/030207160042.html
http://www.topping.com.ua/go/030207160042.html
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I normally get all my music off P2P, but once I can get it off iTunes without DRM I won’t have any problem paying for it. It wasn’t the $.99 pricetag that was keeping me from buying music files, it was the fact that I refuse to pay for a file that’s encumbered with DRM of any kind. So go Apple! We definitely owe you much kudos for dragging the music industry (by the hair, kicking and screaming) into 2007.
The DRM in iTunes may be a lot more liberal than Microsoft’s or Napsters, but it’s only “invisible” to you if you don’t want to share your stuff with your friends the same way you could with a CD or a cassette tape. Without DRM, I can buy a song off iTunes and send it to a friend if I feel like. I don’t believe every single person should have to pay individually for everything they see and hear. And I don’t think most of the rest of you do, unless you’re bastards who never learned about sharing in kindergarden. Then again, judging by some of the comments that get posted in music DRM threads, there are probably some of you who, if I saw a CD on your shelf and asked to borrow it, would say, “No! That’s stealing! Buy your own!”
THIS is big news. From this point on those who adamantly stick to DRM’d formats will be left behind.
Now it is up to us to speak with our wallets! If all DRM songs see a dip in sales and all Non-Drm sees an increase the message will be clear.
I hereby declare a personal boycott on all DRM songs on iTunes!
> but it’s only “invisible” to you if you don’t want to share your stuff with your friends the same way you could with a CD or a cassette tape.
Just burn a CD. Then it would be EXACTLY “the same way you could with a CD.” On the other hand, emailing a song file to a friend is NOT “the same way you could with a CD.” That’s the recording industry’s worst nightmare.
If your intent is to “steal music,” of course Apple’s DRM won’t be invisible to you (it’s there to prevent stealing). But for personal use, Apple DRM is essentially invisible. I’ll keep using it until the higher audio quality is worth 30% more in cost and 100% more in storage.
@Jooop
So using your theory, come on over and paint my house for free.
I mean, your artistic work isn’t worth paying for, so you should share.
Right.
I just love theives trying to justify their actions.
Well, I LOVE sharing my music! That’s why I HATE the DRM on iTunes songs! I remember that I was sharing even during the good, old vinyl days. Heck, within a day of buying an LP, I used to place calls to all my friends. “Guys, I’ve got the new Stealer’s Wheel LP. First one in gets to take it!!” I used to love the way some of my friends would rush over to my house and grab the LP (never did get any of the LPs back . . . or the CDs, for that matter . . . oh well, important thing is I FELT GOOD INSIDE !!)
I’ve carried on the same way with CDs. Once I bought a CD, I’d come home, place the calls, and within a matter of hours, the CD was gone!! What’s better than that?? Share, humans, share!! There’ll be a place in Heaven. Am I weighed down by all the CDs and LPs I bought over the years? NO!! I’m so happy all the thousands and thousands of dollars I have paid over the years for LPs and CDs are now residing elsewhere (suckers!!). There are very few people in the world who can boast that they have spent all their hard-earned money – and have nothing to show for it!
Now that it has all gone electronic, I’m not going to become an “evildoer” by buying stuff I cannot share! I wait for the day that music is DRM-free so that I can take my sharing one step higher – I’d like to purchase the songs online and get them downloaded immediately to the computers of other people. Sharing on a massive scale . . . that’s what I am waiting for! Then I could go out to my local park, and sing: “The hills are alive, with the sound of music!”