iTunes DRM-free Music Gets Cheaper

When Apple first introduced the DRM-free tunes on iTunes, called "iTunes Plus," everyone was ecstatic to finally have music that wasn’t bogged down with copy protection. However, those songs were offered at a premium price that was 30% more than the regular iTunes rate of 99 cents per song. Although the DRM-free tracks were higher-quality recordings, more people were buying them for their lack of copy-protection, not for the better format. Then, last month, Amazon launched a DRM-free music store. Not only were the Amazon tracks DRM-free, they tended to be cheaper too, with most of the 2 million+ tracks available for only 89 cents each. So now, it should come as no surprise that Apple has decided to lower the prices on their "iTunes Plus" songs. In a Wall Street Journal article, it’s reported that the price cuts apply "mainly to songs from EMI Group Plc, the only major recording company with which Apple has cut a deal for DRM-free music so far. Apple has also already begun adding new music to iTunes Plus from independent recording companies at 99 cents a song." I hope that maybe now the other record companies will begin to see the value in giving consumers what they want, and sign on to offer DRM-free music; this would be a good time to get with it, especially when the labels’ greedy practices are beginning to push their own clients, the artists themselves, out the door.