DRM-free iTunes
So Apple is going to sell “premium” tracks on its iTunes store for $1.29. The “premium” part? 256-bit encoding and no DRM. Which I guess is pretty cool. I wonder what the over/under on how long this lasts is?
The deal doesn’t include Beatles’ tracks, but will supposedly cover the rest of EMI’s catalog. Wikipedia has a list of artists signed to EMI. Notable members of the list (for me) include:
- Frank Sinatra
- Dean Martin
- Bowie
- The Yardbirds
So what’s the more interesting part of the “premium” tracks: No DRM, or upped bitrate? One could already get around the DRM without a lot of trouble, so I might lean towards the bitrate. However, not having to fuss with breaking the DRM or burning/re-ripping is braggable.