iTunes Music Store goes DRM-Free!

@12:32 Leave a comment

Just went to purchase a song on iTMS, and it popped up with a little message.

"Perhaps you'd prefer to use iTunes Plus? iTunes Plus music is our DRM-free, highest quality audio format. iTunes Plus music videos now contain our highest-quality audio tracks and are also DRM-free."

Finally, they're getting the idea that DRM is bad.

For those wanting to test it out, you'll need to the new version of iTunes (7.2), which you can get from here.

When Apple were first discussing the idea with EMI (Tech Digest Article) it seems they were going to increase the price for the DRM-Free tracks. So far I haven't seen a price increase, however I may have just missed the tracks the prices have been increased on. So keep an eye out for that.

Added at 17:44 - Ok, they want 20p per song for DRM-Free versions. Not sure why it didn't charge me the first time (although to be fair.. it probably did charge me the 20p, but it hasn't come out of my account yet). There's also an option to upgrade your library here.

Despite the fact they're charging more for the DRM-Free versions, something which I'm not sure if I'm willing to pay the extra for, it's still a step in the right direction. At least in my opinion.

Tags : Music