Apple Adds 8 Million More DRM-free Tracks to iTunes
Posted 01/06/09 at 07:30:16 PM by Pulkit Chandna
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iTunes has expanded its library of DRM-free music with the addition of 8 million songs devoid of any copyright protection. The move that was announced today at Macworld comes after Apple reached an understanding with the three largest music labels, Sony BMG, Warner Music, and Universal. It already has a similar agreement with EMI and has been providing music belonging to that label sans any DRM for around a year.
Apple is also going to allow people the luxury of ridding their iTunes music library of its copyright protection. But for that users will have to shelve out an extra 30 cents for every song they want to convert. Another 2 million DRM-free tracks are going to become available on iTunes in April.
This may actually piss off Ipod users
Submitted by dougau on Wed, 01/07/2009 - 8:40am
Having to fork up 30 cents per track to get the DRM free version of what you already bought may actually piss alot of people off. It sure maks Apple look greedy.
Submitted by codepath on Wed, 01/07/2009 - 1:46pm
It didn't say the HAD to do it. Just that could choose to.
This was indeed a good move
Submitted by I Jedi on Wed, 01/07/2009 - 4:19am
This was indeed a good move for iTunes, I think. In short, offering people more DRM-free choices to choose from helps ensure that they help maintain their position as the number one provider of online digital music. I say this because sites like Amazon.com offered non-DRM based music that had me attracted to them because of that single issue. Now that iTunes is offering this, too, more widely, I may shop there for my music selection in the future.
Nice to see that more and more companies are making the move and seeing the "error" of their ways.
now we have to deal with
Submitted by Khaled on Thu, 01/08/2009 - 4:47am
now we have to deal with video DRM ...
Submitted by Khaled on Wed, 01/07/2009 - 2:09am
Totally unrelated, but that new MacBook is one good looking machine ;)
weak...
Submitted by fake gordon mah ung on Tue, 01/06/2009 - 7:22pm
Thirty-cents more for a song I already own! Does this mean that all DRM-free tracks will be $1.29.
BTW, I think the idiom is shell out, not shelve out.
8million? Well that's alot.
Submitted by Keith E. Whisman on Tue, 01/06/2009 - 6:06pm
8million? Well that's alot.
Again BTW wasn't there an article a short while ago about Apple getting rid of DRM entirely? What became of that? Are they still going to can DRM?
Whydo i have to pay extra to
Submitted by nekollx on Tue, 01/06/2009 - 5:39pm
Whydo i have to pay extra to have the music i bought work on my conputers?
Submitted by pellier on Tue, 01/06/2009 - 5:38pm
only apple would make custoers pay more money to unlock their music
Submitted by nekollx on Tue, 01/06/2009 - 5:52pm
i might buy this if it was a 1-10 cent fee per track i mean geeze 30 cents? that's a third of the average track rate of 99 cents.
Imagine if you baught a CD that only worked in Sony Brad CD players and then they sold you a new one that wpould work on all CD players a year later for seven bucks (average albulm retail rate being $21)
Submitted by Digital-Storm on Tue, 01/06/2009 - 8:10pm
It is actually not that bad. Considering that you get 256bit songs all drm free isntead of the 128bit songs with drm. Also, any song you purchase now comes drm free as long as it has a + next to the price. It is standard now.
Steve Jobs must need the
Submitted by spurdy on Tue, 01/06/2009 - 5:42pm
Steve Jobs must need the money to cover his medical bills
Submitted by Khaled on Wed, 01/07/2009 - 2:08am
that's low.
You can thank the RIAA and the record labels for paying 30 cents
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