iTunes ends track copy restrictions, drops prices
- Added:
- Jan 07, 2009
Apple is now selling nearly all of its music on iTunes without copy protection, and will start selling some tracks at a lower price.
The company has struck deals with all four major record labels and thousands of independent labels, to provide tracks free of anti-piracy digital rights management (DRM).
The move will allow iTunes customers to copy purchased tracks to as many different computers or MP3 players as they like.
iTunes already sold a limited selection of DRM-free music, but the new deals mean that eight of its 10 million songs are now available without copy protection.
The remaining two million tracks will be available without DRM by the end of March.
iTunes users can also upgrade previously purchased copy-protected songs to DRM-free format for an extra 20p per song or 30% of the album price.
Apple also said it would introduce variable pricing to the music store from April, offering tracks for 59p, 79p or 99p rather than the current flat rate of 79p.
iPhone 3G users will now be able to buy songs from iTunes over mobile phone networks as well as when connected via wi-fi.