EMI goes DRM-free on iTunes Store

Vikingod · Apr 2, 2007, 03:06 PM

Source: Ars Technica
___________
Apple and EMI announced today that the music label will begin selling all of its music through the iTunes Store, DRM-free. During a press conference in London this morning, EMI said that all new, unprotected tracks from the iTunes Store will be available for $1.29 and that customers will be able to upgrade their already-purchased EMI tracks for $0.30 if they so choose.

Along with the announcement came news that EMI's music quality will be bumped up from that typically available through the iTunes Store. EMI tracks will now be available as 256kbps AAC files, upgraded from 128kbps. "We believe that offering consumers the opportunity to buy higher quality tracks and listen to them on the device or platform of their choice will boost sales of digital music," said EMI CEO Eric Nicoli during this morning's press conference.

~~DudeBoyz~~ · Apr 2, 2007, 03:55 PM

Woah. Jobs agreed to a price increase from 99 cents?

That is sort of shocking.

Why still in AAC format if it will not be protected? Why not go MP3?

But it is 256k after all, even higher than the 192k many would have hoped for.

**temeteus82** · Apr 2, 2007, 04:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DudeBoyz

Why still in AAC format if it will not be protected? Why not go MP3?

Well, It might be because mpeg-4 audio is better that mpeg1- layer 3 audio

~~DudeBoyz~~ · Apr 2, 2007, 04:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by temeteus82

Well, It might be because mpeg-4 audio is better that mpeg1- layer 3 audio

MP3 is far more universal.

Vikingod · Apr 2, 2007, 04:59 PM

Why not go OGG which is leagues better than all of them, and open source.

~~DudeBoyz~~ · Apr 2, 2007, 05:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vikingod

Why not go OGG which is leagues better than all of them, and open source.

None of my MP3 players play AAC or OGG.

I like MP3 - it just flat out works.

calidan · Apr 2, 2007, 06:24 PM

This is pretty cool. I don't know about the price but I guess it could be worse. Hopefully more studios go this route too.

**temeteus82** · Apr 2, 2007, 06:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DudeBoyz

MP3 is far more universal.

iPod supports acc and if I'm correct zune and creative zen supports it too ...

~~DudeBoyz~~ · Apr 2, 2007, 07:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by temeteus82

iPod supports acc and if I'm correct zune and creative zen supports it too ...

Well, let's see.

My Car Stereo doesn't
My Sony CD boombox doesn't
My GoVideo DVD player doesn't
My Panasonic DVD recorder doesn't
My 5 Samsung portable MP3 players also do not

How's that for a start?

MP3 works on every single one of those devices, so, while I own a 24" iMac and dig OS X, I still prefer MP3 to any format Apple puts out.

**temeteus82** · Apr 2, 2007, 08:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DudeBoyz

Well, let's see.

My Car Stereo doesn't
My Sony CD boombox doesn't
My GoVideo DVD player doesn't
My Panasonic DVD recorder doesn't
My 5 Samsung portable MP3 players also do not

How's that for a start?

That's a good start. But since the music is on iTunes most of users are using iPod so thats why they went for acc

~~DudeBoyz~~ · Apr 2, 2007, 08:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by temeteus82

That's a good start. But since the music is on iTunes most of users are using iPod so thats why they went for acc

I would think that this will open up the iTunes store to a much, much broader audience. They will probably sell many more songs but perhaps fewer iPods as a result. Perhaps the extra 30 cents will help offset that some.

I have no interest in actually owning an iPod. Not having a user-replaceable battery is a deal-breaker for me.

I'll probably join the iTunes store now, something I have not done before, and I'll use Bonk Encoder to convert from AAC to the more standard MP3 and I'll be able to listen to my music on any of the machines I own that play MP3's. The only annoying thing is that I will probably lose a bit of quality in the conversion process. But hopefully, not enough that it will be very noticeable.

$1.29 per song seems a lot, but it does give me the ability to buy ONLY the songs I want instead of having to purchase a whole album.

Apr 2, 2007, 03:06 PM	#1
Vikingod Int'l Fish Liaison Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: By the light of lamp I sit and type... Posts: 16,187 Rep Power: 109 System Specs	EMI goes DRM-free on iTunes Store Source: Ars Technica ___________ Apple and EMI announced today that the music label will begin selling all of its music through the iTunes Store, DRM-free. During a press conference in London this morning, EMI said that all new, unprotected tracks from the iTunes Store will be available for $1.29 and that customers will be able to upgrade their already-purchased EMI tracks for $0.30 if they so choose. Along with the announcement came news that EMI's music quality will be bumped up from that typically available through the iTunes Store. EMI tracks will now be available as 256kbps AAC files, upgraded from 128kbps. "We believe that offering consumers the opportunity to buy higher quality tracks and listen to them on the device or platform of their choice will boost sales of digital music," said EMI CEO Eric Nicoli during this morning's press conference. __________________ *How You Can Help DriverHeaven By Using Digg*

Apr 2, 2007, 04:59 PM	Thread Starter #5
Vikingod Int'l Fish Liaison Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: By the light of lamp I sit and type... Posts: 16,187 Rep Power: 109 System Specs	Why not go OGG which is leagues better than all of them, and open source. __________________ *How You Can Help DriverHeaven By Using Digg*

Apr 2, 2007, 06:24 PM	#7
calidan Frozen in Carbonite Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Kansas City, MO Posts: 1,409 Rep Power: 57 System Specs	This is pretty cool. I don't know about the price but I guess it could be worse. Hopefully more studios go this route too. __________________ Steam Community :: ID :: calidan "Don't try to be like Jackie. There is only one Jackie.... Study computers instead." - Jackie Chan

Apr 2, 2007, 03:55 PM	#2
~~DudeBoyz~~ banned Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: USA Posts: 1,677 Rep Power: 0	Woah. Jobs agreed to a price increase from 99 cents? That is sort of shocking. Why still in AAC format if it will not be protected? Why not go MP3? But it is 256k after all, even higher than the 192k many would have hoped for.