Confirmed: Apple Dropping DRM Across iTunes, New Pricing Structure, 3G Downloads
Just before Tony Bennett sang goodbye to the Moscone Center faithful with “I Left My Heart In San Francisco,” Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) confirmed at its final Macworld Expo that it will drop DRM copy protection across 10 million iTunes Store songs from all majors, as per CNET’s earlier report. The move will apply to eight million tracks as of today and will extend to a further two million by the end of the quarter. Bringing to a close what have sometimes been fractious label negotiations, Apple is also introducing three new pricing tiers for iTunes tracks—$0.69 for older tracks, $0.99 for recent tracks and $1.29 for new hits. Marketing VP Phil Schiller, taking Steve Jobs’ traditional keynote spot, also said Apple is extending the ability to buy iTunes songs wirelessly via iPhone from merely WiFi to 3G mobile networks; also from today, tracks will be priced the same and have the same bitrate as desktop iTunes downloads.
EMI already began offering higher-fidelity, DRM-free AAC files back in May 2007, after Steve Jobs said Apple would “embrace (DRM-free) in a heartbeat if the big four would license their music (that way) ... because DRMs haven’t worked, and may never work, to halt music piracy.” Dropping DRM on Apple’s favored AAC file format will not be as significant as switching to MP3, which is more commonly associated with DRM-free and compatible with more devices. Forrester Research music analyst Mark Mulligan told me: “DRM is dead, long live DRM! This is overdue and needed to differentiate premium from subsidized services like Nokia’s Comes With Music. The more you pay, the less DRM you get.”
Other Macworld news after the jump...
—Artist Lessons: An update to the Garage Band music software adds a video feature, Learn To Play, including Artist Lessons from Sting, Norah Jones and others. Tapping a new ongoing revenue stream for Apple, more artists’ lessons will be added later, for $4.99 a lesson - it’s like a Guitar Hero tutorial, without the game.
—iWork.com A new cloud computing feature that’s going head-to-head with Google (NSDQ: GOOG) Docs, iWork.com comes alongside a revamp for the iWork suite - and is another subscription-revenue service. Schiller: “In the end it will be a fee-based service, but it’s a free beta for now.”
—New iLife ‘09 suite: iPhoto is getting face recognition, Facebook-style face tagging and geolocation. Plus, tags on Facebook and Flickr will sync with those for pictures on iPhoto, and iPhoto slideshows can be synced to iPhone and iPod touch. iMovie gets slick new editing tools.
—New 17-inch MacBook Pro: As expected, a refresh of the largest laptop in the line introduces an 0.98-inch thin machine with a unremovable battery. Eight hours battery life and 1,000 charges, but not good news for those who know how a laptop battery can age and whither. Glass trackpad.
Related StoriesPosted In: Entertainment, Music, Companies, Apple, itunes
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Comments (1)
Jan 12, 2009 10:28 AM
Well Apple has brought down its prices but its not only a question of a company but a matter to look upon as why Apple has slashed its prices. I have my views on http://controversial-affairs.blogspot.com/2009/01/price-or-prize.html