Apple Inc. confirmed the new unveiling of the music licensing deal the 4 major labels have agreed to. Apple is now allowed to sell DRM-free music at variable prices. Rumors have been flying galore but now is official.
If you don't know DRM stands for Digital Rights Management. The term refers to access control technologies used by hardware manufacturers, publishers and copyright holders to limit usage of digital media or devices. Copy protection only attempts to prohibit unauthorized copies of media or files. Digital Rights Management allows the issuer of the media or file to control in detail what can and cannot be done with a single instance. Thus a reason for some of your Windows Media Players crashing in the past! Many online music stores employ DRM to restrict usage of music purchased and downloaded online. There are many options for consumers buying digital music over the internet, in terms of both stores and purchase options.
The music industry should only be so excited over these changes. Labels didn't bite on the notion of selling music without DRM protection unless some concession were considered. Enter the variable pricing. The company will utilize a variable pricing model starting in April. The price points start at 69 cents, 99 cents, and $1.29. The majority will be lower then $1.29.
iTunes has already started offering 8 million of its 10 million songs in the DRM-free format today. The other 2 million should be DRM free by the end of March.
iPhone 3g users will feel the love by being able to preview and download the entire iTunes Store music catalog over their 3g network just as they do with Wi-Fi. This all comes at the same price and same high quality format.
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