iTunes DRM-Free

The number one digital music retailer, Apple’s iTunes, just announced that all songs by the major labels will now come DRM-free. DRM is Digital Rights Management. In the past, this meant that if you purchased a song on iTunes, you could only use it on an Apple device, such as the ipod or iphone. Without DRM, you will be able to use iTunes-purchased music on any device.

Apple is also changing the pay structure for songs on the site. Songs that are from the older catalog will be $0.69 per song, current songs will stay at $0.99, and top hits will be $1.29 per song.

An additional upgrade will be that now the entire iTunes library will be available for digital download on the iPhone via the 3G network. In the past, songs could only be downloaded via Wi-Fi. This will open up better access to purchasing songs, and not just in wi-fi zones.

Whether people go to the iTunes store or download songs for free, Apple knows that they will continue purchasing ipods to do so. Apple is still in a great spot to take advantage of people purchasing from the iTunes store or elsewhere.

In other news, iTunes just crossed the 6 billion songs sold line.

Stay tuned,
Erik
erikrostad.com