Technocrat

Apple Unveils Higher Quality DRM-Free Music on the iTunes Store

Kai Howells
Mon Apr 02 15:23:50 -0700 2007
Freedom.
manage

Apple today announced that they have sorted things out with EMI to re-release their entire catalogue of music on the iTunes Music Store in DRM-free AAC, and at twice the bitrate (256kbs vs 128kbs).

Combined with the announcement last week that you can receive credit towards the purchase of an album for each of the individual tracks that you have purchased off that album, it seems that not only are Apple listening to what consumers want, but they're putting their money where their mouth is, and following up on the ideas that Steve Jobs threw around in Feb in his Thoughts on Music.

Proving, however, that there's no such thing as a free lunch, in the US, the DRM-free tracks cost $1.29, which is more than their DRM-encumbered counterparts. If you already have purchased the DRM versions of these tracks, you are able to upgrade them to the DRM-free, higher bitrate versions for the $0.30 price difference.

EMI Music Videos will also be available in DRM-free formats as well, with no change in price.

Apple Unveils Higher Quality DRM-Free Music on the iTunes Store
femto
Mon Apr 02 18:27:59 -0700 2007
 manage
Thirty cents would appear to be the price you pay to buy permission to copy the DRM free version and distribute it. Is that what EMI intends? If that's not what the 30c buys then what does it buy? If not, perhaps they would be better off with no price difference?
Apple Unveils Higher Quality DRM-Free Music on the iTunes Store
Charles E Hill
Mon Apr 02 21:29:35 -0700 2007
 manage
It buys Apple's soul.

Steve Jobs made a very, very big deal about "everything is $0.99".  The music industry has been pushing him for tiered pricing since day one.

They just got it.

EMI is the crack, and I'm betting the others are chomping at the bit to insert the wedge and bring down the sledgehammer.

If EMI's little experiment demonstrates the profitability of DRM-free music, then Apple is in for a shitstorm.  The ONLY reason iTunes is successful is because it is so damned easy.

However, easy is very simply do duplicate when you don't worry about DRM.  With the exception of AllofMP3.com, every other major music site relied on DRM.  Load this software, use only our special player, no you can't burn it, sorry it doesn't work on Tuesdays...

All of that can be made to go away if DRM goes away.  Apple has had wild success because they control everything end-to-end.  Why do you think iTunes only works with an iPod?

If Sony, BMG, EMI and the rest decide to chuck it all in and simply say "okay, for $0.99 to $1.99 you can get any track as an MP3, DRM-free", then Apple's reign as music king will be short lived.
Apple Unveils Higher Quality DRM-Free Music on the iTunes Store
chinakow
Mon Apr 02 22:19:14 -0700 2007
 manage
30 more cents also buys twice the bit rate, says so right there in the summary.
 

Do you have questions about the site? Write to bruce at perens.com . List of all articles we've ever published. Source Code Developer's Documentation RSS XML Sitemap XML News Sitemap Valid XHTML 1.0 Strict Valid CSS! [Valid RSS]