Apple and EMI Launch Promised DRM-Free Music Catalogue

Apple today launched a subset of iTunes, dubbed iTunes Plus, established to market DRM-free, 256kbps-quality audio tracks to consumers interesting in obtaining unrestricted files for playback and to transfer any which way they so wish – as long as the application and/or device they prefer using recognizes the AAC file format. All iTunes Plus tracks cost $1.29, though full albums will run iTunes Store customers the same amount as those with digital rights management software attached.

As AppleInsider has reported, the iTunes Plus catalogue consists only of EMI recordings at the moment, however, Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple, alluded to progress in negotiations with the remaining three of the “big four” record companies (Sony, Warner, and Universal) in today’s announcement, stating, “We expect more than half of the songs on iTunes will be offered in iTunes Plus versions by the end of the years.”

(Consumers of iTunes Store music tracks looking to obtain items in the new DRM-free selection are required to upgrade their copies of iTunes software to edition 7.2 in order to so.)

There’s still much debate as to whether the debut of iTunes Plus should be met with applause or with jeers, and almost all of the talk has to do with pricing. If one simple takes a glance at the surface of the issue, $1.30 doesn’t appear to be too steep a premium. DRM-laden tracks remain at $0.99, after all, and one would assume the new DRM-free tracks would be $0.99 as well if not for the increase in bit rate, file size, and sound quality.

The argument against the new pricing structure is made on the basis that what tracks remain at $0.99 should rightly have their tags slashed. Proponents of such a measure consider the actual value of a product that, in the vast majority of cases, is roughly 3-4 times less true to the original recording(s) than what one can find on a tangible compact disc manufactured within the last decade (or earlier). Therefore, if the average CD today costs roughly $10-15, the same collection of tracks encoded with a 128kbps bit rate should run the consumer $2.50-5.00. The fair minded of course lean more to the higher end of that scale.

For now, iTunes Plus as it is will have to do for the majority of legal digital downloaders (iTunes users) seeking DRM-free music. If Mr Jobs words are even somewhat accurate, we will likely see much of media in the iTunes Store available in iTunes Plus format in several months’ time. Until then, iTunes fans will need to remain content with consuming EMI artists like Coldplay, Coltrane, Sinatra, and the Stones in higher quality (and with greater freedom). Pink Floyd’s also on the list. Gilmour and gang will certainly be able to hold you over at least for a few months, if not decades and centuries to come.

That’s right. Dark Side? Greatest album ever.