Blog: at least Tony Bennett was good

Apple is offering millions of songs free of copy protection on its iTunes digital music store, allowing buyers to play the music they purchase on all devices, not only Apple products.

Apple has finally made agreements with the big music labels, ending the last bastion of digital rights management (DRM), the anti-piracy lock-and-key system used by the music industry. DRM-protected songs prevent music being copied — an option insisted on by recording studios — meaning that iTunes tracks could be played only on Apple products such as iPods.

Until now iTunes, the world’s most popular online music store, offered only a limited number of songs from the EMI label and independents.

Now, Apple has signed deals with three of the big music labels — Warner Music Group, Sony and Universal Music Group — to sell DRM-free songs from today.

In exchange, Apple has agreed to a new system of tiered prices for the songs offered. New songs will cost more than back catalogue music, allowing the labels to make more money from new releases. From April, based on what the music labels charge Apple, songs on iTunes will be available at one of three prices: 59p, 79p and 99p, with most albums still priced at £7.99.

Apple has held the price of tracks at 79p since iTunes opened in 2003.

Eight million songs will be available from the iTunes store DRM-free, rising to more than ten million by April, Phil Schiller, Apple’s head of marketing, announced at the Macworld expo in San Francisco.

Steve Jobs, Apple’s chief executive, who did not make the keynote speech at Macworld for the first time in 12 years as he undergoes treatment for a hormone deficiency that has led to dramatic weight loss, had predicted that DRM-free songs would be available by the end of 2007. But it has taken until now for the music companies, which have offered DRM-free music via other outlets including Amazon for more than a year, to hand over the rights to Apple’s highly influential music store.

iTunes has sold more than six billion tracks, with 75 million account- holders. Even with DRM-protected songs, it is the biggest music retailer in the United States. Apple said that users could upgrade their already purchased tracks to DRM-free via the store as they become available for 20p a track.

Apple shares fell by 1.2 per cent to $93.44 after the Macworld presentation ended without the company making any revolutionary product announcements.

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