EMI and iTunes offers DRM free music

[Barnes]

"DRM-free tracks from EMI will be offered at higher quality 256 kbps AAC encoding, resulting in audio quality indistinguishable from the original recording, for just $1.29 per song. In addition, iTunes customers will be able to easily upgrade their entire library of all previously purchased EMI content to the higher quality DRM-free versions for just 30 cents a song, Apple said."

http://www.appleinsider.com/article.php?id=2623

The first small step to killing DRM. Much higher bitrate, DRM free, and I have heard that albums will cost the same as they doo now. EMI has also removed DRM for their music videos.

[fanforever1986]

Damn you beat me to the punch!

This is HUGE. The music industry is finally opening their eyes.

Another article:

http://news.com.com/2100-1027_3-6172...-0-5&subj=news

[Jayems]

Whats the difference to someone who has no idea what you are talking about.?

[Barnes]

The music is no longer copy protected. You can do with it what you want. It is also encoded at a higher bitrate for those that hear the cracks and pops.

[Jayems]

Originally Posted by Barnes

The music is no longer copy protected. You can do with it what you want. It is also encoded at a higher bitrate for those that hear the cracks and pops.

So wouldn't that cause the piracy market to explode?

[Bobblehead]

Originally Posted by Jayems

Whats the difference to someone who has no idea what you are talking about.?

Up to this point, if you "bought" music from the iTunes Music Store (iTMS) you could play that music on your iPod, on that computer, adn on a couple other authorized computers.

You could not play thos songs on your Sony/Creative/Samusung/ or any other MP3 player*. If your computer got screwed up somehow, those songs were lost.

Now, songs from EMI can be downloaded and played on any MP3 player you own. You can copy these songs to any computer you own, with no issues, and use the songs any way you want to use them (maybe use a computer to make a jukebox).



* There are ways of getting around the problems, the most common of which is burning the songs to a CD (which, by definition, do not have DRM), then rip the CDs back to MP3s.

[Barnes]

Originally Posted by Jayems

So wouldn't that cause the piracy market to explode?

Why would it? CD's are not copy protected.

[Bobblehead]

Originally Posted by Jayems

So wouldn't that cause the piracy market to explode?

That is what the music companies are afraid of.

In reality, the DRM only affected honest people. Anyone who wants to always could find any song via peer to peer networks.

So by putting DRM on songs, all it did was punish the people who would actually buy the music honestly by only letting them play the music on certain types of music player (either iPods for songs bought from iTMS, or anything except iPods for song bought other ways, eg. PureTracks)

[Bobblehead]

Looking at the press release from EMI, it appears they are charging an additional 30 cents for the non-DRMed version of songs. And Barnes, you are correct - Albums will stay the same price.

Apple has announced that iTunes will make individual AAC format tracks available from EMI artists at twice the sound quality of existing downloads, with their DRM removed, at a price of $1.29/€1.29/£0.99. iTunes will continue to offer consumers the ability to pay $0.99/€0.99/£0.79 for standard sound quality tracks with DRM still applied. Complete albums from EMI Music artists purchased on the iTunes Store will automatically be sold at the higher sound quality and DRM-free, with no change in the price. Consumers who have already purchased standard tracks or albums with DRM will be able to upgrade their digital music for $0.30/€0.30/£0.20 per track. All EMI music videos will also be available on the iTunes Store DRM-free with no change in price.

[ken0042]

Originally Posted by Bobblehead

That is what the music companies are afraid of.

In reality, the DRM only affected honest people. Anyone who wants to always could find any song via peer to peer networks.

###. A couple of years ago I made an attempt to go legit with all of my MP3s. I started sorting out the ones that I had made from my store bought CDs, and the ones I had "downloaded." I then went to try a few download sites to try and see which ones I liked. My first MP3 I paid for I saved to my desktop. It wouldn't let me move it off the C drive to the D drive; which is where I keep my MP3s.

A move like this would make a person like me far more inclined to pay for music. I'm at a point in life where I would rather pay a buck than muck around with some program. The main reason I had still used P2P was it was less of a pain than trying to strip the DRM off the songs.

[fanforever1986]

Originally Posted by ken0042

###. A couple of years ago I made an attempt to go legit with all of my MP3s. I started sorting out the ones that I had made from my store bought CDs, and the ones I had "downloaded." I then went to try a few download sites to try and see which ones I liked. My first MP3 I paid for I saved to my desktop. It wouldn't let me move it off the C drive to the D drive; which is where I keep my MP3s.

A move like this would make a person like me far more inclined to pay for music. I'm at a point in life where I would rather pay a buck than muck around with some program. The main reason I had still used P2P was it was less of a pain than trying to strip the DRM off the songs.

Yup, it sure is a hassle. I have a good number of songs which I've purchased off itunes that are somehow corrupt. The account the song is associated with is the same one I have always used, but when I try to play it, it says my computer is not authorized. Other songs work no problem.

[Jayems]

Now if only iTunes USA could get the rights to share more of its content with iTunes Canada...

So frustrating I can browse all the great albums, just to find out I was on the American one, and can't download it.. go to iTunes Canada, and I can get like 1/10 of the CDs..

[Kipper is King]

Thank goodness. DRM is a silly way for music companies and hardware companies to "protect" their assets. They really just are trying to make money from it. Bravo EMI! Now bring the Beatles to Itunes!

[Barnes]

Originally Posted by Kipper is King

Thank goodness. DRM is a silly way for music companies and hardware companies to "protect" their assets. They really just are trying to make money from it. Bravo EMI! Now bring the Beatles to Itunes!

Coming Soon.