Apple's DRM Shackles Are Off!

One of the biggest news stories to surface from the latest Macworld Expo in San Francisco, was news that the iTunes Store is to sell all of its music, devoid of DRM copy protection. This is obviously great news for the consumer who now has even more choice on where to purchase DRM-free digital music. Many people have anticipated this move for some time, and so it comes as no surprise that Apple have finally jumped on the DRM-free bandwagon.

The biggest move has come from the 'big four' music labels (Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, Sony BMG, and EMI), who have agreed to remove the copy protection on their music tracks, in return for a variable price structure from Apple. What this means for consumers is that Apple will sell music tracks at different prices, which will be 69 cents, 99 cents and $1.29; this new structure will come into effect around April 2009. There’s no specific details on the mechanics of how this will work, but it is thought that tracks that are new, or popular, will attract the higher price-point.

For more information on the iTunes Store and getting the most out of Apple's iTunes software, be sure to read the following articles:

• iTunes Store Review
• Top 5 iTunes Tutorials