techcrunch.com - 1/6/2009
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Nearly two years ago, Steve Jobs published an open letter to the music industry calling for the death of DRM (digital rights management). He convinced EMI to ditch DRM back in April, 2007, but the three other major music labels held out. Until today . Now all the songs on iTunes are ...
apple.com - 1/6/2009
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apple.com —
SAN FRANCISCO January 6, 2009 Apple today announced
several changes to the iTunes Store ( www.itunes.com ).
Beginning today, all four major music labels Universal Music Group, Sony BMG, Warner Music Group and EMI, along with thousands of independent ...
(more)
Changes Coming to the iTunes Store
news.cnet.com - 1/6/2009
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news.cnet.com —
Apple has cut deals that will finally enable
iTunes to offer songs free of copy protection software
from the three largest music labels, according to two sources close to the negotiations. In exchange, Apple has agreed to become more flexible on ...
(more)
Sources: Apple to expand DRM-free music, new pricing
appleinsider.com - 1/6/2009
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appleinsider.com —
In what could be a significant victory for
its online music store, Apple is believed to have
landed agreements not only to remove copy protection from the music of all major labels but to also allow direct music downloads to iPhones over cellular ...
(more)
Apple inks deals for all DRM-free iTunes, 3G downloads
Comments
Blog Reactions
iTunes DRM-Stripping Fee Isn't a Tax at All
AppScout —
... Apple also today announced an offer to convert your purchased (and DRM-protected) iTunes tracks to unlocked, higher bit-rate tracks for 30 cents each. Erick Schonfeld over on TechCrunch is griping about the policy, calling it a "Music Tax." But this isn't Apple "sticking it to consumers" at all. ...
Linkpost | 1.7.2009
TechBlog —
... - But still no firm date on Win7's release. • The Price Of Going DRM-Free: Apple's Hidden $1.8 Billion Music Tax - Costs 30 cents to upgrade each iTunes-purchased song to DRM-free. • ...
iTunes music: The cost of removing Apple’s copy protection
Brainstorm Tech: Technology blogs, news and analysis from Fortune Magazine » Apple 2.0 —
... ) to turn the lifting of restrictions into a profit center. If users convert every one of the 9 billion songs purchased from the iTunes Store over the past six years, a rich new revenue stream will flow toward Cupertino. Techcrunch’s Erick Schonfeld calls it Apple’s “$1.8 billion music tax.” ...
It’ll Cost You To Convert To Apple’s DRM-Free iTunes
Cult of Mac —
... Erick Schonfeld of TechCrunch estimates Apple would earn $1.8 billion if each of the 9 billion iTunes sales were converted to non-DRM. ...
Newsflash: Apple has been charging for iTunes Plus upgrades since 2007
VentureBeat —
... But these potential upgrades are big business. How big? Try $1.8 billion, as TechCrunch points out. But that’s assuming that all 6 billion song sold on iTunes (some of which were already DRM-free) are going to be upgraded — which, of course, won’t happen. Probably a small percentage will — especially if it really takes as long as ...
Apple’s $1.8 billion iTunes tax
SuperSite Blog —
... You gotta hand it to Apple. They really do know how to separate money from people’s wallets. Check this bit of chicanery around their new DRM-free music upgrade plan: ...
Related Content
DRM = Doesn't Really Matter
louisgray.com 1/6/2009 — If one of the biggest items to be delivered at tomorrow's MacWorld Expo is the elimination of DRM from songs on the iTunes store, as is rumored , then we are on the brink of the biggest snoozefests in technology event history. Forget that Mr. Steve ...
Is iTunes Going DRM-Free?
mashable.com 12/9/2008 — AppleInsider just published a tip they picked up from French technology site ElctronLibre that “asserts that it’s now “clear” Apple will spark new interest in its music store by removing DRM from tracks published by Sony, ...
Apple kills off DRM
blogs.computerworld.com 1/7/2009 — Please, please let this ground-breaking move by Apple be the beginning of the end for all digital rights management.
read more
DRM In Retreat
freedom-to-tinker.com 1/28/2009 — Last week's agreement between Apple and the major record companies to eliminate DRM (copy protection) in iTunes songs marks the effective end of DRM for recorded music. The major online music stores are now all DRM-free, and CDs still lack DRM, so ...
iTunes Music Store Finally Drops DRM, Adds New Prices
blog.wired.com 1/7/2009 —
After years of fits, starts, threats and ultimatums Steve Jobs and three major labels have come to terms on a deal that will immediately make music available on iTunes without the digital rights management that limits music playback to Apple ...
iTunes finally goes DRM-free … done anyone really care?
blogs.zdnet.com 1/7/2009 — News from the Macworld Expo - iTunes is in the final stages of shedding DRM, offering some eight million of its 10 million songs in Apple’s iTunes Plus DRM-free format. But does anyone care? Is there anyone who is still concerned about DRM buying ...
French Screenshot Shows DRM-Free Music in iTunes
blog.wired.com 12/15/2008 — Nearly a week after rumors swirled about three major labels letting iTunes to sell music without digital rights management comes evidence of additional experimentation by Apple with DRM-free music -- in France.
In an echo of last month's ...
Apple criticized for iPod shuffle's new 'authentication chip'
appleinsider.com 3/17/2009 — Apple this weekend was hit with a media assault after reports suggested that a mysterious authentication chip in the third-generation iPod shuffle, responsible for supporting the player's new headphone-integrated playback controls, signaled a rogue ...
Safari enjoys 'unusually residential' December boost —
The Register 1/5/2009
Suggests OS X adoption Use of Apple's Safari browser grew in December to 7.93 per cent, up from 7.13 per cent in November, suggesting a parallel growth in adoption of Mac OS X, according to browser-usage figures released today by internet-analyst ...
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