Music fans who download digital tracks from websites face less restrictions on where they buy their music and on how they can use it following a deal between Apple and EMI announced yesterday.
EMI, the world's third largest music company, will offer all its digital music with less stringent copyright protection on iTunes, allowing music fans to download tracks to any digital music player and not just iPods, which are made by Apple.
Until now, owners of digital music players have been restricted to buying downloads from certain stores, depending on the make of their device and the sort of copy protection it could handle. The move means owners of devices other than the iPod can now buy songs from the iTunes music store, and that tracks will be available with higher quality sound. Conversely, iPod owners will be able to choose from a wider range of competing stores.
Until now, all music sold from iTunes had software called DRM (digital rights management) embedded in it which restricted the number of computers each track could be played on or how often it could be copied to a CD.
Under the deal with EMI, Apple will offer customers the choice of paying an additional 30 cent a song for a higher quality version which will also have no DRM.
Steve Jobs, Apple's iconic CEO, said: "We are going to give iTunes customers a choice - the current versions of our songs for the same 99 cent price, or new DRM-free versions of the same songs with even higher audio quality and the security of interoperability for just 30 cent more."
The major record companies have always maintained DRM is required to counter music piracy but it has made using music bought online difficult for consumers. "Selling digital music DRM-free is the right step forward for the music industry," he said.
Executives at several rival record companies said they had expected EMI to drop DRM but asked if EMI had done sufficient market research to justify the move. "It's problematic," said one executive. "EMI haven't tested it enough so they don't know what the market reaction is going to be to open MP3s. The issues are, will MP3s help expand the market and how will it affect piracy? We just don't know."
Jobs stepped up the pressure on other music companies to follow suit, saying he expected more than half of the five million songs on iTunes to be offered in DRM-free versions by the end of the year.
There had been speculation that the two companies would announce the availability of The Beatles back catalogue on iTunes. EMI boss Eric Nicoli said they were still "working on it".
What does it mean?
By removing DRM from EMI Music recordings the files can be played on multiple computers and on digital music players from Apple competitors such as Microsoft, Creative, SanDisk and iRiver.
DRM free music can also be played on mobile phones and any other device capable of playing digital music formats like MP3 and AAC.
Songs with DRM and encoded at 128 kbps will cost 99c. Those without DRM and encoded at 256 kbps will cost €1.29.
Up until now music purchased online was not as high quality as that on CDs. Apple says the new format will be "indistinguishable from the original recording". The new formats will be available worldwide on iTunes in May.
If you have already purchased EMI artists' music from iTunes you will be able to upgrade to the DRM-free high quality version for 30c a song.
- (Additional reporting Guardian service)