[The Motion Sick] iTunes to remove DRM and set variable pricing
An article in the New York Times today notes that Apple is set to
drop DRM (digital rights management) on music purchased through the
iTunes music store from (initially, via the story) 3 of the 4 major
record labels, Sony, Universal and Warner (EMI has already been selling
DRM-free music). Apple will also remove the set price of $.99 for
singles, varying pricing anywhere from $.69 up to $1.29.
I see this as a positive step for a few reasons... One; the arcane DRM
used makes it quite difficult to move one's music around to different
machines, or to be used on non-Apple music players (that's you, Mr.
Zune). I for one have
several computers and I'm currently down to 1 remaining authorization to
play music I legally bought from the store. As a result; I actually have
stopped buying all music from the iTunes music store, and I imagine, that
there are people out there like me who have stopped buying music online
for the exact same reason. Yes, I'm aware of the fact that there are
other online options (Amazon, to name one) but honestly; I (like a lot of
people) use iTunes to manage my music library since frankly; its a pretty
damn good program. Plus, the store is organized very well and the search
feature is great. I'm also excited that Apple is offering to strip music
already purchased of its embedded DRM.
Secondly, I see a variable pricing structure to work in everyone's favor,
and hopefully; that might give smaller/independent artists the ability to
create worth from the music, but still have it inexpensive enough that
(maybe??) more fans and casual listeners would be interested in
purchasing it. (Seriously, $.69 for a song that you can bring everywhere?
You could buy half a record for less than the cost of a medium soy
latte!).
I'll be curious to see how/if this impacts the industry.
Comments?
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