DRM-free music on iTunes

[yurimxpxman]

"8:30 Sounds like Steve is reading from a stack of cards -- this is not his normal polished delivery. Apple testing confirms that people will pay more for higher quality music that is interoperable across devices. 128-bit AAC encoding not good enough for audiophiles. Increases in storage enable higher audio quality tracks on devices. New versions of songs and albums are DRM-free and 256kbps AAC encoded for $1.29 per song. That extra $0.30 gives users DRM-free interoperability and superior quality. It's not a price increase but an additional iTunes product.

Previously purchased EMI songs can be upgrade for $0.30 per song.

DRM-free albums will be priced at the same price (but higher quality) as current, DRM-crippled albums.

Apple will reach out to other labels starting today to give them the same deal. Steve expects 50% of all tracks to be DRM-free by end of the year! That's 2.5 of the 5 million tracks currently on the site.

Steve opines: Some doubted our sincerity to break the iTunes bond between the store and iPod player. Hopefully, people can see that Apple is only concerned with doing the right thing for the customer."

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