Indigenous Music
iTunes Drops Digital Locks
Apple announced Tuesday, at the MacWorld Expo, changes to the iTunes store that many though were inevitable: the end of digital locks known as DRM. The technology restricted consumers' ability to copy music to multiple devices and was viewed by major record labels as a way to protect copyright and reduce elligal file sharing.
Apple has been a hold out on the DRM approach to music sales - several other companies, including Amazon and Rhapsody, had already negotiated DRM-free deals with the majors.
As part of the changes, Apple has also announced that labels will be able to set a price point for track sales at $0.69, or $1.29, in addition to the usual $0.99 price that Apple has ardently stuck to over the past few years.
Read more at the Wired Blog and Globe and Mail.
Apple has been a hold out on the DRM approach to music sales - several other companies, including Amazon and Rhapsody, had already negotiated DRM-free deals with the majors.
As part of the changes, Apple has also announced that labels will be able to set a price point for track sales at $0.69, or $1.29, in addition to the usual $0.99 price that Apple has ardently stuck to over the past few years.
Read more at the Wired Blog and Globe and Mail.