And There It Is…
EMI has announced that is will remove any DRM protection from its music catalog offered through the iTunes Store. These DRM-free songs cost a bit more, $1.29 versus $0.99, but are of higher audio quality (256kbps versus 128kbps AAC).
Complete album purchases still cost the same but will be of the DRM-free and higher audio quality variety. Users will be able to “upgrade” previous EMI song purchases to the DRM-free versions by paying $0.30 per song.
This is the type of game changing activity that revolutionizes everything. Other music companies are sure to follow in the near future to stay competitive. I’m not sure how much direct influence Steve Jobs had in this DRM-free proceedings, but I think EMI struck a good balance typified in Apple’s moves in the music and movie distribution channels. The desires of the users are taken into consideration and implemented to the greatest extent possible without sacrificing the solvency of the company. What you get is a win-win situation where both users and service providers (the music companies in this case) both prosper.