Rumor: Apple's iTunes going DRM-free starting Tuesday

[AppleInsider]

Apple is believed to be on the verge of an end-of-year push that would start by finally offering unprotected iTunes Store music from all major labels and would switch a special post-holiday campaign giving away music and videos to Europeans.

A report from last week brought to AppleInsider's attention by French technology site ElectronLibre asserts that it's now "clear" Apple will spark new interest in its music store by removing DRM from tracks published by Sony, Universal and Warner on December 9th.

The site doesn't point to specific sources but is careful to note that Apple is moving cautiously on the matter following difficult negotiations that allegedly had the labels hoping to negotiate what EMI had done for the launch of iTunes Plus in 2007, when it successfully negotiated prices higher before ultimately agreeing to reduce the price to Apple's standard 99 cents. Labels had also been hoping to switch from a monthly reporting of iTunes sales stats to live data, the earlier story suggests.

Talks between Apple and the remaining three labels may have been corroborated by a previous CNet story which also mentioned ongoing discussions that would let Apple switch to music without FairPlay restrictions.

Shoppers themselves have also noticed songs briefly selling unprotected that weren't either from EMI or independents.

More recently, the same site also believes Apple will quickly follow up the move with a promo campaign nicknamed the "12 Days of iTunes" that will let shoppers in France, Germany and the UK download an "unlimited" amount of content just after Christmas.

Running from the 26th through to January 6th, the formal debut of Macworld Expo in San Francisco, the campaign would tie into local radio stations and news outlets and would make a point of offering big-name content. Lily Allen and James Blunt songs will supposedly be offered in addition to an episode of Spongebob Squarepants and other videos.

Although Apple gives away content on a regular basis, a daily giveaway would be rare for the company, which usually limits offerings to once a week and to less high-profile content. The timing nonetheless implies a campaign meant to soften the drop in downloads after Christmas.

Readers should treat ElectronLibre's claims as rumor given the uncertainty of whether Apple is participating in any negotiations at all. However, the page is known to have accurately leaked the launch of French iTunes TV shows and so has established a brief track record.

Update: CNet News.com claims that ElectronLibre's report is untrue and that it's unlikely DRM-free tracks from the three remaining labels will turn up on iTunes before the end of the year.

[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]

[Ireland]

I'll see it when I believe it O-o

[CDonG4]

This would be monumental for Apple, and the rest of the music industry.

[Ireland]

Originally Posted by CDonG4

This would be monumental for Apple, and the rest of the music industry.

Or overdue, whichever.

[ascii]

I think it's great - I have already upgraded over a third of my library to iTunes Plus.

One thing though - they shouldn't call it "The 12 days of iTunes" - that is extremely arrogant to replace "Christmas" with "iTunes." To some people it is the birthday of God (or something...) It just comes across wrong, that's all.

[nightshift]

Originally Posted by AppleInsider

Although Apple gives away content on a regular basis, a daily giveaway would be rare for the company, which usually limits offerings to once a week and to less high-profile content. The timing nonetheless implies a campaign meant to soften the drop in downloads after Christmas.

Haven't the days after Christmas usually led to an increase in downloads? With people getting gift cards/promos for iTunes as gifts over the holidays, I would imagine more people redeeming those cards leading to a higher number of downloads than before Christmas.

[Johnny Mozzarella]

I've been very limited in my iTunes purchases due to DRM restrictions.
What little I've purchased is mainly iTunes plus.
If this happens, I can finally through caution to the wind.

[bbwi]

No way this happens by tomorrow. This is huge and Steve is more likely to announce something at MacWorld

[philb]

Originally Posted by AppleInsider

Apple is believed to be on the verge of an end-of-year push that would start by finally offering unprotected iTunes Store music from all major labels and would switch a special post-holiday campaign giving away music and videos to Europeans.

Well, it's half-past Tuesday here in Blighty, and nothing in the store looks that much different. There's 13 tracks in 'Upgrade my Library' - I'd have hoped my entire back catalogue would be in there if they were getting rid of the DRM. Nothing obvious in the US store, but I don't go there much to know the difference.

[GQB]

Originally Posted by ascii

I think it's great - I have already upgraded over a third of my library to iTunes Plus.

One thing though - they shouldn't call it "The 12 days of iTunes" - that is extremely arrogant to replace "Christmas" with "iTunes." To some people it is the birthday of God (or something...) It just comes across wrong, that's all.

"The 12 Days of Christmas" is perhaps one of the earliest examples of what we now know of as the divorce of Christmas from Christ.
Its a song that celebrates the commercial side of the holiday and has nothing to do with the spirit of Christmas (other than the spirit of 'the backbone of consumer capitalism.)
</cynical rant>

[mkill]

The music industry decided to just take my money in exchange for digital music (as in direct download instead of on CD) without screwing me over? Have they finally realized that any CD I feed to my MacBook will result in mp3s added to my iTunes library, without even another keystroke? Wait, it must be 2001 already?

[Half Goon Half God]

I just found this album in my iTunes Plus 'upgrade my album' list. Note the label.

(This is on the Australian iTunes Store)

[caliminius]

Originally Posted by Johnny Mozzarella

I've been very limited in my iTunes purchases due to DRM restrictions.
What little I've purchased is mainly iTunes plus.
If this happens, I can finally through caution to the wind.

And I could stop buying from Amazon. Oh, wait...Apple's prices will still be more than Amazon's and nearly as much as buying the CD (if not more). I could wait for those famous iTunes sales...oops, Apple doesn't do that (okay, iTunes says that Britney Spears albums are on sale this week but weirdly iTunes sale prices are Amazon's regular price).

Never mind, regardless of what happens, it seems I can just go back to ignoring the iTunes Store.

[macologist]

Here we go again --

Big STARS will fill the arenas, and thus can give away CD's which cost them 50c-$1 to make. With $50-100 ticket prices, it's trivial.

Let them spend tens of thousands on making of a CD, and maybe a FEW of them will ever recoup those costs!

Arenas are for stars, and most all musicians are not stars!

We all leave in the glass houses..., nobody's perfect!, and the bills keep coming! And so, how are the musicians to survive, never mind feed their families, never mind health insurance etc.?!

But, most "civilians" can't relate to the musicians' struggles!!!

[gwarf420]

Originally Posted by macologist

Here we go again --

Big STARS will fill the arenas, and thus can give away CD's which cost them 50c-$1 to make. With $50-100 ticket prices, it's trivial.

Let them spend tens of thousands on making of a CD, and maybe a FEW of them will ever recoup those costs!

Arenas are for stars, and most all musicians are not stars!

We all leave in the glass houses..., nobody's perfect!, and the bills keep coming! And so, how are the musicians to survive, never mind feed their families, never mind health insurance etc.?!

But, most "civilians" can't relate to the musicians' struggles!!!

What? How would musicians suffer from non-DRM legally purchased content?

[Virgil-TB2]

Originally Posted by caliminius

And I could stop buying from Amazon. Oh, wait...Apple's prices will still be more than Amazon's and nearly as much as buying the CD (if not more). I could wait for those famous iTunes sales...oops, Apple doesn't do that (okay, iTunes says that Britney Spears albums are on sale this week but weirdly iTunes sale prices are Amazon's regular price).

Never mind, regardless of what happens, it seems I can just go back to ignoring the iTunes Store.

Well that's true if:

- You can actually find anything on Amazon amid the advertisements and junk
- You don't mind the lower quality of Amazons digital offerings

A couple of cents more per track for a higher quality download and a nicer more organised experience seems like a good deal to me. The kind of folks that will pay a bit more for a computer (Mac folks) because it's designed better and of better quality, will always appreciate the same features in a music store IMO.

[lowededwookie]

Originally Posted by GQB

"The 12 Days of Christmas" is perhaps one of the earliest examples of what we now know of as the divorce of Christmas from Christ.
Its a song that celebrates the commercial side of the holiday and has nothing to do with the spirit of Christmas (other than the spirit of 'the backbone of consumer capitalism.)
</cynical rant>

That being said anyone believing this time of year actually has anything to do with Christ is just as naive and is in fact about roughly two months too late.

Christmas is in fact a pagan holiday for worshipping the sun not Christ. It was merged into Christianity in an effort to get people converted from heathenism to Christianity which in itself is wrong.

Besides, don't you think that if Jesus wanted us to celebrate his birthday it would be written in the Bible? There is only one account in the Christian Greek Scriptures that mentions a birthday and it didn't go all too well for John the Baptiser did it?

Anyway, back to topic.

I hope that DRM-free content also allows us to purchase from OTHER iTunes stores. Why can't I buy from UK when much of the music I listen to is from over there. Instead I have to listen to content from Australia/New Zealand where it's mostly crappy US music which has no soul. We don't even have much of our own music promoted here which is wrong because New Zealand music is pretty good.

[solipsism]

Originally Posted by Virgil-TB2

Well that's true if:

- You can actually find anything on Amazon amid the advertisements and junk
- You don't mind the lower quality of Amazons digital offerings

A couple of cents more per track for a higher quality download and a nicer more organised experience seems like a good deal to me. The kind of folks that will pay a bit more for a computer (Mac folks) because it's designed better and of better quality, will always appreciate the same features in a music store IMO.

While I am not a fan of the iTS' setup, it is better than Amazon's, but the 256kbps VBR MP3 tracks at Amazon are better quality than the 128kbps DRMed tracks at the iTS. It's currently only EMI's DRM-free offerings that are 256kbps AAC.

[cameronj]

Originally Posted by macologist

Here we go again --

Big STARS will fill the arenas, and thus can give away CD's which cost them 50c-$1 to make. With $50-100 ticket prices, it's trivial.

Let them spend tens of thousands on making of a CD, and maybe a FEW of them will ever recoup those costs!

Arenas are for stars, and most all musicians are not stars!

We all leave in the glass houses..., nobody's perfect!, and the bills keep coming! And so, how are the musicians to survive, never mind feed their families, never mind health insurance etc.?!

But, most "civilians" can't relate to the musicians' struggles!!!

Shouldn't they get a job that can pay the bills if their music can't?

I don't expect the public to pay for my "art" (fixing computers) if the market won't.

[JeffDM]

Originally Posted by Virgil-TB2

- You don't mind the lower quality of Amazons digital offerings

Based on actual experience with tracks from both stores, or based on conjecture because of the file formats involved?

[tbsteph]

"Shouldn't they get a job that can pay the bills if their music can't?

I don't expect the public to pay for my "art" (fixing computers) if the market won't."

Well said!

[Booga]

Originally Posted by lowededwookie

That being said anyone believing this time of year actually has anything to do with Christ is just as naive and is in fact about roughly two months too late.

Christmas is in fact a pagan holiday for worshipping the sun not Christ. It was merged into Christianity in an effort to get people converted from heathenism to Christianity which in itself is wrong.

Besides, don't you think that if Jesus wanted us to celebrate his birthday it would be written in the Bible? There is only one account in the Christian Greek Scriptures that mentions a birthday and it didn't go all too well for John the Baptiser did it?

Anyway, back to topic.

I hope that DRM-free content also allows us to purchase from OTHER iTunes stores. Why can't I buy from UK when much of the music I listen to is from over there. Instead I have to listen to content from Australia/New Zealand where it's mostly crappy US music which has no soul. We don't even have much of our own music promoted here which is wrong because New Zealand music is pretty good.

The holiday that takes place on December 25th and involves gifts, trees, stockings, and general "Yuletide" celebrations is a Germanic holiday ("Yule") celebrating Odin predating Christianity.

That being said, that's right around the winter solstice and a lot of societies have identified that as a time for some kind of gathering.

[JeffDM]

Originally Posted by gwarf420

What? How would musicians suffer from non-DRM legally purchased content?

I think I've figured out a possible connection - some people had the belief that only pirates only wanted DRM free, and DRM free would mean a free-for-all for piracy. Not only is it a false belief, even the wacky recording industry seems to have abandoned that belief when they all went DRM-free with Amazon MP3. Maybe some people still haven't stopped clutching those beliefs.

[DeaPeaJay]

Originally Posted by Booga

The holiday that takes place on December 25th and involves gifts, trees, stockings, and general "Yuletide" celebrations is a Germanic holiday ("Yule") celebrating Odin predating Christianity.

That being said, that's right around the winter solstice and a lot of societies have identified that as a time for some kind of gathering.

Arguing over who has the "rights" to Christmas is silly. I use it as a time to celebrate the birth of my Savior. It's origins are of no concern to me.

The point about the commercialization of Christmas has some value though. But it's not the date that concerns me as much as the general idolization of stuff. I'm guilty of this myself to an extent in regards to all things Apple.

[DocNo42]

Originally Posted by caliminius

I could wait for those famous iTunes sales...oops, Apple doesn't do that

I dunno, I get my iTunes gift cards from Costco and it works out to $0.80 a track. Gives me discount's at the app store too (gotta love those gift cards).

And the iTunes AAC files are of higher quality then the Amazon MP3's - and yes, I own both. If Apple goes DRM free, then that's one stop shopping for me. The only reason I would look elsewhere is if it's one of the few things that iTunes doesn't have.

But hey, what's there to argue about? More choices of DRM free music are a good thing, or is it just bad no matter what it is because it's from Apple

[JeffDM]

Originally Posted by DeaPeaJay

Arguing over who has the "rights" to Christmas is silly. I use it as a time to celebrate the birth of my Savior. It's origins are of no concern to me.

The point of it is though that using non-Christian symbolism and rituals to celebrate Christianity, is just... ...doing it weird. And that's one of the kinder interpretations of such a practice.

[char]

Hello. We run a website at www.contentrealtime.com and have been offering multi-category content downloads for several years now. what we are noticing is ALL content categories and most retailers are prepared or preparing to offer DRM free digital downloads. Audiobooks were actually first, music has been second (many non-Apple vendors and manufacturers have wide catalogues of DRM free offerings. Also, now eBooks looks to be going the DRM free route, and we'd say last but least will be movies. What is causing this we believe is simply "user absorption of content without restrictions or hassles" focus, we all believe the greatest blockage to distruptive growth of online digital content download for all categories (we have 9 categories on our website so far).

DRM-free is good because:
1. Honest consumers will pay for the content they consume.
2. Much less hassle in consuming. No worries about special readers, where the copies are.
3. The market will grow 100 times faster. Look at Napster (although it was mostly illegal use of music, it showed that this capability has the ability to go viral and have millions participate quite quickly.)
4. It is cost effective. Cheaper for all parties involved. The amazing cost savings for consumers and publishers of digital downloads is thwarted a bit when you have to pay for the DRM on every copy, much less have distributors track and report on it.

Good luck Apple, welcome to the DRM free world.

Write us at contactus@contentrealtime.com

Char and the team

[KingOfSomewhereHot]

Huh?... I thought December 25th was Jimmy Buffett's birthday!! ... Seems like a good enough reason for the civilized world to celebrate to me!

Oops... wrong topic!...
I'm one of those that would pay 20c more per track for the iTMS "experience". I currently do music either from a CD or from Amazon... because I don't like how DRM is executed these days. I find myself looking for music on iTunes... then going to Amazon to buy it. The iTMS interface is just that much better (IMHO).

[Virgil-TB2]

Originally Posted by JeffDM

Based on actual experience with tracks from both stores, or based on conjecture because of the file formats involved?

AAC is a better quality format than MP3. I thought everyone knew that.

And to that other guy who took me to task over this comment ... I am comparing non-DRM to Non-DRM files. I don't buy DRM anything and don't think it should even be legal to sell such crap.

Your mileage may vary of course, but to me it's a no-brainer to use iTunes. Amazon is ugly and hard to use and has lower quality stuff. For many people the only real advantage it has is that it had that sweetheart deal with the music cartel to sell DRM free. If iTunes goes DRM free that advantage is removed.

It's also not available in as many countries as iTunes and not in my country at all, so I couldn't use it if I wanted to.

[JeffDM]

Originally Posted by Virgil-TB2

AAC is a better quality format than MP3. I thought everyone knew that.

It's not so simple, and one should not rely on what "everyone knows". That's an easy groupthink trap.

At same bitrate, many audio codecs have been shown to be quite comparable here:

http://www.listening-tests.info/mf-128-1/results.htm

[SpamSandwich]

Originally Posted by ascii

I think it's great - I have already upgraded over a third of my library to iTunes Plus.

One thing though - they shouldn't call it "The 12 days of iTunes" - that is extremely arrogant to replace "Christmas" with "iTunes." To some people it is the birthday of God (or something...) It just comes across wrong, that's all.

Don't even mention the Jesus Phone.

[arlomedia]

Originally Posted by cameronj

I don't expect the public to pay for my "art" (fixing computers) if the market won't.

I don't think macologist was saying that the public should pay for musicians' art. I think he was saying that if it's distributed in a format that allows unauthorized replication, it becomes harder to support the continued creation of that art. Since your work fixing computers can't be copied and redistributed beyond your control, there's really no comparison.

Originally Posted by gwarf420

What? How would musicians suffer from non-DRM legally purchased content?

There's no problem with legally purchased content; the problem is if the content is then copied illegally. If I copy a track from a friend rather than buying my own, then the musician just lost a sale.

I don't think Apple or the labels would do this unless they'd done the math and found it would work out. But people shouldn't forget: even though the Internet has drastically lowered the cost of distribution, the cost of creation is still high, and musicians need to have a fair shot at recouping it.

[BJWanlund]

Any new product Steve would announce would be BURIED in this kind of announcement! Of course, Steve's not stupid, and he knows that any iTunes announcement at this point would easily overshadow any new product announcements, and he learned from the mistake of 2 years ago (burying the AppleTV with the iPhone announcement).

So, speculating on iTunes announcements in the not-too-distant future, here's what I see happening:

• DRM-free TV shows (which is definitely a good thing; I've been hooked on Whale Wars as of recent)
• Beatles on iTunes (major dreaming here)
• AC/DC on iTunes (same)
• FremantleMedia using iTunes's TV show platform to put all sorts of content up on iTunes, including back episodes of American Idol, The Price Is Right, and many, many others from their many holdings (since Aardman's shorts & TV shows are up in the USA now)
• DRM-free movie purchases
• Mac applications you can buy right through iTunes (since they're cornering the market on mobile App Store downloads, why not expand it to include Mac software/games?)
• Premium Podcast Feeds (like SCO Extra, etc.)
• Walt Disney Company/Buena Vista Entertainment offering their entire catalog of classic TV shows, short films (esp. the ones NOT currently on iTunes), and movies on iTunes (why haven't they done this before?), including Golden Girls, Home Improvement, Mousercise, etc.
• eBooks for use on iPhone and iPod Touch, along with viewing right on your computer, also coming with a platform for aspiring authors to send their content to millions of iTunes users immediately (why haven't they done this before?)
• The long-in-coming iTunes record label (and they probably bought out the Starbucks Hear Music label holdings to do it).

BJ

[SpamSandwich]

Originally Posted by macologist

Here we go again --

Big STARS will fill the arenas, and thus can give away CD's which cost them 50c-$1 to make. With $50-100 ticket prices, it's trivial.

Let them spend tens of thousands on making of a CD, and maybe a FEW of them will ever recoup those costs!

Arenas are for stars, and most all musicians are not stars!

We all leave in the glass houses..., nobody's perfect!, and the bills keep coming! And so, how are the musicians to survive, never mind feed their families, never mind health insurance etc.?!

But, most "civilians" can't relate to the musicians' struggles!!!

Dude, it's a simple case of supply and demand economics. Musicians struggle just like everyone else, they just choose a career path that has an oversupply of laborers, same as actors.

[JeffDM]

Originally Posted by arlomedia

I don't think macologist was saying that the public should pay for musicians' art. I think he was saying that if it's distributed in a format that allows unauthorized replication, it becomes harder to support the continued creation of that art. Since your work fixing computers can't be copied and redistributed beyond your control, there's really no comparison.

Then why are they still selling CDs? Any encryption on a download is irrelevant if someone can just buy the CD and redistribute its contents.

I don't think Apple or the labels would do this unless they'd done the math and found it would work out. But people shouldn't forget: even though the Internet has drastically lowered the cost of distribution, the cost of creation is still high, and musicians need to have a fair shot at recouping it.

DRM isn't the answer. To assume it's effective at stopping piracy is to be ignorant of the reality that says otherwise.

The police state that the RIAA wants, also isn't the answer.

[Virgil-TB2]

Originally Posted by JeffDM

It's not so simple, and one should not rely on what "everyone knows". That's an easy groupthink trap.

At same bitrate, many audio codecs have been shown to be quite comparable here:

http://www.listening-tests.info/mf-128-1/results.htm

Well I know you make it your life's work to disagree with me on this forum a lot, but this is not as subjective as you think. AAC is a better, higher quality format than MP3 when the bit rate is the same. All audio codecs are comparable, but some are better than others at reproducing sound.

AAC is one of those.

[DeaPeaJay]

Originally Posted by JeffDM

The point of it is though that using non-Christian symbolism and rituals to celebrate Christianity, is just... ...doing it weird. And that's one of the kinder interpretations of such a practice.

I know a guy who refuses to celebrate Christmas on those grounds. He's a strong Christian, but he's practically a scrooge about Christmas because he sees it as a pagan holiday that's been Christianized by the church.

To me, that's much more "weird" than simply celebrating it as is customary to celebrate it. It's not the form of worship that matters, but the *heart* of worship. I have no problems with Santa Clause either where many Christians might. I know what's most important to me.

Christians who have the attitude that Christmas is *their* holiday and get up in arms with those who don't celebrate it the same way need to re evaluate what's most important to them.

[Wiggin]

Originally Posted by BJWanlund

Any new product Steve would announce would be BURIED in this kind of announcement! Of course, Steve's not stupid, and he knows that any iTunes announcement at this point would easily overshadow any new product announcements, and he learned from the mistake of 2 years ago (burying the AppleTV with the iPhone announcement).

So, speculating on iTunes announcements in the not-too-distant future, here's what I see happening:

• DRM-free TV shows (which is definitely a good thing; I've been hooked on Whale Wars as of recent)
• Beatles on iTunes (major dreaming here)
• AC/DC on iTunes (same)
• FremantleMedia using iTunes's TV show platform to put all sorts of content up on iTunes, including back episodes of American Idol, The Price Is Right, and many, many others from their many holdings (since Aardman's shorts & TV shows are up in the USA now)
• DRM-free movie purchases
• Mac applications you can buy right through iTunes (since they're cornering the market on mobile App Store downloads, why not expand it to include Mac software/games?)
• Premium Podcast Feeds (like SCO Extra, etc.)
• Walt Disney Company/Buena Vista Entertainment offering their entire catalog of classic TV shows, short films (esp. the ones NOT currently on iTunes), and movies on iTunes (why haven't they done this before?), including Golden Girls, Home Improvement, Mousercise, etc.
• eBooks for use on iPhone and iPod Touch, along with viewing right on your computer, also coming with a platform for aspiring authors to send their content to millions of iTunes users immediately (why haven't they done this before?)
• The long-in-coming iTunes record label (and they probably bought out the Starbucks Hear Music label holdings to do it).

BJ

I think it will be awhile yet before we see DRM-free movies (or even TV shows). It's different for music since it's already widely and leagally available in a non-DRM format (CD). All commercial video going back to VHS (Macrovision) has been copy protected. Sure, it's easily broken copy protection; but it's been there for quite sometime none-the-less. Besides, while Apple has a strong position in audio players with the iPod, if they ever want to leverage iTunes for AppleTV sales they will need that "lock-in" with video.

I could maybe see DRM-free standard definition TV shows, but if DRM is dropped on anything else, Apple won't be the one pushing for it. Remember, Steve's anti-DRM letter only addressed music, not video, and specifically pointed out CD sales as why DRM on downloaded music is pointless.

[solipsism]

Originally Posted by Virgil-TB2

Well I know you make it your life's work to disagree with me on this forum a lot, but this is not as subjective as you think. AAC is a better, higher quality format than MP3 when the bit rate is the same. All audio codecs are comparable, but some are better than others at reproducing sound.

AAC is one of those.

While 256kbps AAC is better than 256kbps MP3, is it better enough to to be worthy of purchasing it over MP3 at an inflated price?. The results seem to be similar to Monster Cables technically being better than much cheaper cables, but not affecting the result in any noticeable way.

[JeffDM]

Originally Posted by Virgil-TB2

Well I know you make it your life's work to disagree with me on this forum a lot,

You're imaging things here.

AAC is a better, higher quality format than MP3 when the bit rate is the same.

It was only a month ago that I believed that, but when I saw actual tests that said otherwise, I abandoned that belief. The page I linked shows equivalent reproduction quality for the same bitrate, and it's a commonly used bitrate too. I think it's a little different when you starve the bitrate, but it's not really happening here.