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Apple launch iTunes Plus
Dean Mortlock
1 comment 31 May 2007
After yesterday’s update of iTunes and Steve Jobs’ assurance that DRM-free music would appear by the end of May, the first tracks from EMI have started to arrive.
Called iTunes Plus, the service is accessed from the main page of the iTunes Store and features a selection of the EMI DRM-free albums on offer, as well as charts of best sellers. The iTunes Plus option also appears on an album’s main page if the facility is available.
“Our customers are very excited about the freedom and amazing sound quality of iTunes Plus,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “We expect more than half of the songs on iTunes will be offered in iTunes Plus versions by the end of this year.”
“This is a tremendous milestone for digital music,” said Eric Nicoli, CEO of EMI Group. “Consumers are going to love listening to higher quality iTunes Plus tracks from their favorite EMI artists with no usage restrictions.”
It’s rumoured that Apple had some difficulty removing the DRM from EMI songs, causing many late nights as they rushed to meet the deadline.
iTunes Plus in a nutshell
DRM free songs cost $1.29 (or 99p).
Tracks are recorded in high quality 256 kbps, making them almost CD quality.
Songs are encoded in the AAC format and will play on any compatible player.
Initially launched with EMI’s entire digital back catalogue, which includes Paul McCartney, Coldplay, The Rolling Stones and Pink Floyd.
Older purchased tracks can be ‘upgraded’ for a cost of 30 cents (20p) per song or around $3.00 (£2.00) per album.
Apple are planning to have around half of their library DRM-free by the end of the year. They’ll do this by adding independent record labels, rather than the other three major ones.
To find out more about iTunes Plus, go here.
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comment 1
Great, but I'd rather not pay more for them. Why can't apple release DRM-free high quality tracks at the same price?
posted by Appleman 31.05.07 |
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