Apple launches iTunes Plus, DRM-free music

[rocktivity]

...Apple('s)...iTunes Plus...brings support for...higher-quality, DRM-free songs...for $1.29 per song.

...iTunes will continue to offer its entire catalog...with DRM at...99 cents per song...iTunes customers can...upgrade their library of previously purchased...content to iTunes Plus tracks for just 30 cents a song and $3.00 for most albums.

...iTunes Plus songs purchased from the iTunes Store will play on all iPods, Mac® or Windows computers, widescreen TVs with Apple TV and soon iPhones, as well as many other digital music players.
link

The key to iTunes' success (2 and half BILLION songs sold!) is that customers think it's a fair deal. Is it fair to ask them to pay THIRTY per cent more for the privilege of playing the songs how they please? It doesn't cost more for them to ADD the DRM coding! And why should the people who put iTunes on the map have to play full price to upgrade songs they've already purchased? Give them either a free upgrade or a limited-time discount. Your good will has always been your REAL stock-in-trade, Apple--DON'T THROW IT AWAY!!!

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:argh:
rocknation

[BlooInBloo]

1. That ship has sailed. They had their chance, and chose to fuck with me....

... I've got my drm-free music covered now, thanks anyways.

[Moochy]

2. Buy the cheaper song

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QTFairUse

This lets you use the converted songs on other players. And for the record I don't use any p2p or sharing networks.
It worked with itunes 7 on windows vista.

[wtmusic]

3. No, the key to iTunes' success was DRM

That's why the iPod has 2.5B downloads and the Rio has zero. Music publishers played ball with Apple because they saw a way to make money.

[msongs]

4. doh! you dont HAVE TO buy anything. its a completely free will choice. nt

[rocktivity]

5. Then Apple shouldn't be surprised if people "choose" to take their business elsewhere

particularly back underground.

:headbang:
rocknation

[Warren DeMontague]

6. The songs are also either lossless or less lossy, I'm not sure which.

For those of us crazy audiophile Deadhead types who are extremely attached to lossless compression schemes, the extra 30 cents makes sense.