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April 3, 2007
No DRM from iTunes accomplishes what?
So, after Apple's announcement, I'll now be able to buy songs from iTunes without DRM.
http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2007/04/02itunes.html
To the folks that care about DRM - here you go. BUT!!! Here's why a good law-abiding citizen like myself doesn't really care:
They are available in 256 kbps instead of 128. (Great, now I can fit half as many songs on my iPod as I used to since the data rate doubled).
The improved bit rates will resulting "audio quality indistinguishable from the original recording". They said that about 128 kbps AAC files and they were right. Guess what? I can't remember the last complaint I heard about 128 kbps AAC files. And if it does make that much of a different, I'm not going to be able to hear it in the cheap earbuds that come with any iPod and certainly not over a crappy FM transmitter. If you want to appease the audiophiles, sell the files in Apple Lossless.
Now I can listen to my music on another player besides an iPod. (Ya...I'll get my iPod on Ebay later on today so I can buy a Zune. Right.)
And no more DRM even.(I'm legit. I'm buying from the store. I don't have more than 5 computers. I can do what I want with the music now.)
Bottom line is, I don't really care. DRM wasn't an inconvenience to me anyway.
But I agree it's a good PR move for Apple. But I don't expect it will make a bit of difference to the music industry. The same problems remain.
And the people that like buying from iTunes are going to keep buying the 99 cent version. And the people that steal music are going to keep stealing music.
Posted by Derek Leverington at April 3, 2007 5:29 PM
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