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Apple Launches DRM-free Music with iTunes Plus

Wednesday, May 30th, 2007 at 9:10 AM - by

Apple officially rolled out its higher quality music offerings without copy protection on Wednesday in the form of iTunes Plus. iTunes Plus tracks will be encoded at 256kbps AAC instead of at the standard 128kbps AAC that Apple has been selling ever since the iTunes Store was launched.

iTunes Plus is launching with EMI's music library including Pink Floyd, Frank Sinatra, The Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney's classic albums, and more. Apple CEO Steve Jobs expects that over half of the music available through the iTunes Store will be offered in iTunes Plus format before the end of the year.

iTunes Plus tracks will be priced at US$1.29, and the standard FairPlay copy protected tracks will remain at $0.99. iTunes Store customers that have previously purchased tracks at the lower fidelity 128kbps format can upgrade to iTunes Plus tracks for US$0.30 per song, or $3.00 for most albums.

EMI is also offering iTunes Plus versions of its music video collection. Video pricing remains unchanged at $1.99.

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burrito said:

member since 07 Aug 2005 with 177 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Wed May 30, 2007 10:01 am

i like it!

more labels!! i wonder how long until the independents get on the bandwagon..

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JimB12 said:

member since 13 Jan 2007 with 21 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Thu May 31, 2007 4:04 pm

Yes yes yes, more more more. Looking to see what can I choose for my first DRM free purchase. Will the new Common album that drops on 6/12 be included?

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