Will EMI go down in history as the first record label to 'get it'?
Why has it taken so long? And gosh darn this is so exciting. To think that a large record label has been brave enough to take the trainer wheels off their digital music offerings and offer them for purchase, DRM free. Will other labels follow suit?
If they do, what does this mean for the future of mp3 players? Microsoft's Zune is notorious for it's DRM-friendly approach especially when it comes to sharing songs wirelessly with other Zune owners. Last I heard the recipient could only play the mp3 within 3 days. If newer iterations of the iPod feature wireless connectivity, will this scare labels back to offering only DRM mp3s or will they attempt to impose their weight on Apple and negotiate restrictions on file sharing?
I'm tingling.
Delicious
Digg
Reddit
Facebook
Google
Technorati
Comments
No new CD's have DRM, so
No new CD's have DRM, so just buy CD's and rip them...
Buying CDs
I actually like the idea of buying albums from iTunes and they get some good albums quick smart. For instance, the new Of Montreal was available on NZ iTunes about the same time it was released in the States and I haven't seen it in any of the shops. If I did buy that album at a store, it would have cost me $34 - $40, whereas on iTunes I got it for $18. The only downside is the stupid DRM.
Once DRM-free comes into effect it is a no brainer for me to go digital purchases. I don't have to go through the hassle of ripping the CD and then storing the damn thing, hardly ever to use it again since I use iTunes and my iPod.
I agree..
Yes yes yes.
Now they just need to make the itunes store less crap. I hate that I can't bookmark things, open new tabs, and generally use it like I use my internet browser.
Probably more to do with
Probably more to do with Apple iTunes pushing DRM-free downloads than any real wisdom on EMI's behalf. If the world's biggest online music pusher is encouraging you to ditch DRM, then you'd probably go along with it.
PUblic Address has some good
PUblic Address has some good info on this. As usually Russel Brown is fairly well informed and balanced in his artist copywrite versus public good via coporate greed arguments. One of the issues here is that EMI is in dire financial doldrums (apparently...i'm sure the beatles keep them fairly buoyant) and being the first label to offer DRM free stuff means they will be the ones to cash in on the publicity etc.
Devil Rider is right, Public
Devil Rider is right, Public Address and PA System have some good discussion on this point. I'd also recommend Dubber's newswire, which you can sign up for at www.newmusicstrategies.com.
So there are a few sides to the story, but it does seem like a step in the right direction for the majors - here's hoping the others don't take too long to follow.
Interesting to read that some people see it as a precedent to follow in opening up new pricing structures for itunes - ie not all tracks cost the same.
I like that an album still costs the same even though individual tracks without drm and at the new increased bit rate cost US$0.30c more.
I'm very much not into buying drm-ed music, particularly since yesterday it meant I had to go buy a cd copy of an album I'd already bought from itunes, just so I could put a track on a compilation cd.
i like your 'headline' funny
i like your 'headline'
funny auto header thing