And just as I\’ve always predicted, DRM schemes are falling apart left and right. In April, Apple\’s iTunes became the first to offer DRM-less mp3s from a major label (EMI). They offered those clean mp3s at higher quality, for $1.29 per song instead of their traditional $0.99. Amazon announced in May their new DRM-less mp3 store, which launched in beta form about a week ago (also with EMI being a primary partner). Prices there range (for the most part) from $0.89 to $0.99, although Amazon doesn\’t seem to offer the quality jump, but that\’s okay. This is how online downloads should be done. After all, it is less value for a lower price — no physical item, lower quality, no liner notes. No ridiculous crap like paying more for DRMed versions.
Microsoft\’s Zune Marketplace will offer about 1/3 of their songs in DRM-less format. Amazon has an entirely DRM-less mp3 store. Apple offers higher-quality DRM-less versions of much of their stock. I\’m sure there are others that I haven\’t noted or noticed. DRM schemes are falling like flies. Now we just have to wait for the rest of the industry to catch up.
Next step: decriminalize \”piracy\”.
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