iTunes goes non-commercial

[Mark Bassett]

I caught a report from one of those US news shows on SBS yesterday stating that iTunes is now selling non-copyright protected music on iTunes?

[Kris]

Correct. EMI has removed the DRM from their catalogue and is also making available a 256kbps version of their songs. They will cost approximately 30 cents more.

From an article on the web....

Still No Beatles For iTunes

by Paul Cashmere - April 3 2007

After much speculation, The Beatles music is not going to be available on iTunes, at least not in the short-term.

Rumors spread quickly late last week that a Beatles/iTunes collaboration was imminent, following the announcement that Apple grand poobah Steve Jobs was to told a joint press conference in London today with EMI Records chief Eric Nicoli.

The conference also included a performance from Damon Albarn's The Good The Bad and The Queen.

Apple promised a major announcement. Unfortunately, the announcement wasn't as major as many had hoped and The Beatles shall remain out of the clutches of digital downloads for the time being.

However, Jobs news was that iTunes will offer EMI Music in a new DRM-free format and at a higher bit rate of 256kbps.

To get the upgrade, buyers will pay 30 cents more per track (US).

The decision makes EMI the first major label to break away from the industry standard and offer DRM-free music. For the consumer, this means that once you have purchased a track, you will be able to transfer it to multiple computers and multiple devices.

In his recent keynote address at SxSW just weeks ago, Talking Heads frontman David Byrne. Byrne called DRM "silly" and added "DRM will go away and people will start to buy downloads. I've bought about 3 tunes from iTunes because it pisses me off".

So, the bottom line is still no Beatles on iTunes but you will soon get a better quality Rolling Stones download.

and...


Record Labels Still Unsure About The Digital Future

by Daniel Zugna - January 23 2007

2007 is set to be an "experimental year", with the major record labels toying with the idea of releasing digital music with no copying restrictions.

It's one of the key topics being discussed at this year's Midem conference at Cannes, with speculation mounting that at least one of the four majors (Universal, Warner, EMI and Sony/BMG) will begin releasing unrestricted digital files by the end of the year.

The majors currently release digital music through the filter of Digital Rights Management (DRM). The DRM system makes it far more difficult for the files to become part of peer-to-peer file sharing networks, however it also restricts the use of the files, creating instances of incompatibility between files and players of different types.

John Kennedy, head of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, told the Reuters news agency, "Digital rights management is exactly that, it's the management of digital rights and if we weren't managing it the headlines would be 'irresponsible music industry ... creates anarchy'."

But he also conceded, "Each of the majors is wrestling with the advantages and the disadvantages of going with MP3s without any restrictions at all."

The argument is based around the interoperability of the DRM system, with some arguing that DRM can evolve into an interoperable system, whilst others suggest it is merely holding back the growth of the digital music market.

"You cannot have zero piracy," says Chris Anderson, editor-in-chief of 'Wired' magazine, "and if you try to get to zero piracy you will make the experience of consuming music so painful you'll have zero industry."

With DRM restrictions abolished, a real possibility emerges that all music will eventually be free. The renowned French economist Jacques Attali (author of 'Noise: The Political Economy of Music'), who attended Midem, predicted that the business model of the recording industry will soon mirror the old radio model. He posits that online music would be supported by advertising (and possibly funding), with consumers paying for live performances.

Another school of thought suggests that music would become like a kind of utility, where consumers would pay a low subscription rate for access to music download networks, for use in their home and portable entertainment systems.

Still, all this discussion fails to address the future of the artists themselves. If a majority of their future income is to be gained through live performance, one can't imagine that the industry could support the number of artists we see today.

[JulienG]

...iTunes is now selling non-copyright protected music on iTunes?

No. iTunes is now offering (at least in some terratories) non-DRM'd music from EMI at double the bitrate and a 30% price premium.

*Big* difference.

[Mark Bassett]

It depends on your interpretation of the word 'protected'.

The music they are selling has legal copyright protection,

*BUT* it doesn't have DRM copyright protection.

Big difference.

[Kris]

That's what I meant. The music is still protected by applicable copyright laws. Just now you can move it around from device to device.

[astrovic]

I don't know what to think of DRM...if you really want a copy of something, you just hook up the output of your iPod to the input of your soundcard/tape deck/other recorder and go for it...old school analog recording. Basically the same as dubbing vinyl to tape in the old days, which noone really thought twice about.

But oh, keeping it in the digital domain means no loss...well, when your starting recording is an mp3, you're not exactly starting from the highest platform, so you don't have a lot to complain about.

So DRM just becomes a tool to slow down the rate of pirating, but annoylingly impedes on those who don't want to pirate but want the convenience of listening to their music however and wherever they want. Sounds like the latter is starting to win, because DRM is just too frustrating. Personally, that sounds good to me, although I'll stick with buying my albums on CD for now anyway!

[Mark Bassett]

Spot on

[Martin]

i bought my first itunes track the other day from the store, and will be my last until the DRM crap goes away

i wanted to play this song to a friend at work to show how good i thought the band/song/production was, and i couldn't!

they lost a potential customer and i spent $1.69 only to support the band and have a song i can only listen to at home

yes i know how this licensing 5 other computers or whatever works, but some people don't like having your stuff all over their audio work macs..

/rant