![]() ![]() Until now Apple has refused to incorporate pricing flexibility, but it is thought that the music industry's increasing support for competitors such as online retailer Amazon's MP3 store helped it change its mind.Īccording to the usually furious rumour mill surrounding Apple announcements, the company's final keynote address at the Macworld Expo in San Francisco had all the hallmarks of being a damp squib. The move is thought to have been part of a deal to convince the major record labels to offer their music libraries for sale without copy protection mechanisms. In the UK, tracks will be available for 59p, 79p and 99p. The plan to drop copy protection was accompanied by the news that Apple would also allow variable pricing for the first time – meaning tracks could be sold for prices other than the standard 79p. It has struggled to convince the record labels to agree to drop DRM for iTunes downloads in a power struggle over who controls the future of the music industry. ![]() "By the end of the quarter all 10 million songs will be DRM free in iTunes and iTunes plus," said Phil Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of worldwide product marketing.ĭRM was originally designed to prevent downloaders from sharing files illegally, but it has become a divisive issue.Ĭustomers can already download some unprotected files from iTunes, and from other retailers, but the news marks a significant shift for Apple. Later this year, Apple said, the company will add a further 8m new unprotected tracks to iTunes, and shortly afterwards expects its entire library to follow suit. Music fans will be able to buy tracks without digital rights management (DRM) from iTunes and easily transfer them between computers, many different brands of music player or even onto their mobile phones. The move means customers will soon be able to buy songs via iTunes – the world's dominant digital music retailer – without being locked into using an iPod. Apple today announced that its entire iTunes music catalogue will soon be available without any copy protection, after agreeing a new deal with the world's major record labels. ![]()
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