Apple Inc begins selling unprotected digital music from EMI Group Plc on its iTunes store, an event that will most likely set the trend for music businesses online.
This came about when Apple’s CEO Steve Jobs requested EMI, Universal Music, Sony BMG and Warner Music to allow them to take off the digital rights management (DRM) restriction from iTunes tracks sometime February, as it prevents people from playing songs on mediums other than the iPod. Among the four top-selling music labels, EMI took the first step and partnered with Apple as they launched iTunes Plus, providing DRM-free tracks at $1.29 apiece, with better sound quality than regular copyright-protected songs that are priced at 99 cents per download.
To start off, iTunes Plus’ DRM-free roster includes songs from Coldplay, The Rolling Stone, Norah Jones, Frank Sinatra, Pink Floyd, and several Paul McCartney’s classic albums.
With this new setup, Apple projects to sell more than half of the 5 million DRM-free songs on iTunes by the end of the year.
Originally posted on May 30, 2007 @ 2:33 pm