iTunes to Offer EMI’s DRM-free Music

In what could be a watershed moment for the digital entertainment industry, leading music publisher EMI Group announced today it would provide most of its music catalog to listeners without any digital rights management restrictions.

And making Apple CEO Steve Jobs live up to his promises from earlier this year, the two companies have reached a breakthrough agreement where DRM-free EMI music will be available on iTunes next month.

As EMI Group CEO Eric Nicoli announced in a press conference in London this morning, his company will be making available DRM-free music tracks across all platforms, with iTunes having signed up as the publisher’s first distributing partner. DRM-free tracks on iTunes will carry a premium, selling for $1.29 per track versus the $0.99 that has been iTunes’ standard since its inception.

Well, the Beatles hasn’t joined the DRM-free Apple/EMI jamboree – at least not yet. Instead, today’s announcement signalled the beginning of the end for DRM with EMI climbing into bed with Apple to offer high quality MP3s that can be used on any digital-enabled player.

It’s a strategy that will also help relationships with various parties in Europe who have bemoaned DRM - particularly Apple’s stance - as violating consumer law.

Steve Jobs said: "We think our customers are going to love this." The new premium AAC encoded downloads will effectively double the sound quality from 128Kbps to 256Kbps.

The Register - EMI and Apple say DRM is so yesterday