Another online music vendor to go DRM-Free

Lots of news from this year's Macworld; this post will focus on just one snippet from the event's announcements:

iTunes is going DRM free and breaking their single-price rule with three points: 69 cents, 99 cents, and $1.29. Not surprised, given the pressure from other music stores. The iPhone will allow 3G downloads too.

...[in addition, for those 'early adopters,'] a simple, one-click option to easily upgrade their entire library of previously purchased songs to the higher quality DRM-free iTunes Plus format for just 30 cents per song or 30 percent of the album price.

This is rather big news for those who have followed digital rights and content ownership debates over the years. And follows on the recent announcement that the RIAA will be switching anti-piracy tactics from lawsuits to a potential loss of internet access for accused offenders.

Certainly news like this, in addition to the other major digital distributors offering DRM-Free music purchases, means it's getting a lot easier for music lovers to purchase and manage their digital collections and continues to raise the question of which approach will have more of an impact on piracy reduction.

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#519585

The RIAA has gone from silly idea from another rather than improve the standards of the music industry. Most of the artists are from shows like Pop Idol (and American Idol), etc. and aren't worth the exorbitant prices they charge.

Expect to see more $1.29 tracks on iTunes.

That said, I'll be buying more songs on iTunes now...

#519589

Death to DRM was imminent... after all, what kind of tech you think will survive, which annoys the legit buyers more than pirates. I hope to see complete DRM removal by the end of this year from everything. Die, B!tch die!!

#519610

I can't believe they're actually going to charge us to strip the DRM.

#519937

anyone who pays 1.29 to itunes instead of .99 to amazon is nuts.

@kaw: yeah. .30 to unlock the song i already bought. whatta joke!

#519944

I can't believe they're actually going to charge us to strip the DRM.

Blame the RIAA, not Apple.

As to paying $1.29 over $.99...you know how many idiot teens there are that use iTunes, right? As long as it's the latest song, I don't think many will care about the price. Remember those people that would buy a CD for one song because it was the hottest item for a week? Yeah, the RIAA loves those kids.

#521053