Apple/EMI Press Conference Coverage

[johnmcboston]

Then again, all this depends on actually being able to use the store. Yet another evening where searches take 5-10 minutes, and samples are constantly 'rebuffering stream'. And of course general timeouts. I won't be able to buy anything at this rate, protected or not.

sigh.

 

[jiggie2g]

I'm very impressed by Good ol Jobsey he finally put his money where is big fat mouth is ,but i am even more impressed by the way he has managed to shut up all the doubters on the geek sites(i.e. daily tech , Slash dot , etc.). I truly believe this will be known as a memorable day in digital media history.

simply put this will have a domino effect on the entire Industry. every one gets what they want. Record Labels get the price hike they have been hounding Jobs over for the past year plus added revenue from all the upgrades customers will do for their current catalogs. customers get rid of DRM infection trash, geeks can now use just about any portable media device they want with out worry of compatibility Issues (I'm sure with this more and more player will support AAC). Audio Purist who hate 128bit AAC get the format that offers the best compromise of sound and storage.(no lossless is not a good compromise at 30MB a track).

Hard Drives and flash prices are free failing so the fact that 256kb AAC takes 2x the space is irrelevant. I fully expect to see a 120GB Touch Screen iPod by fall.

Last but not least once the other labels cave in to DRM free(Pray SonyBMG/Warner Music listen to reason). The Audio Industry will finally be DRM free and prove to the RIAA and MPAA that DRM has failed once and for all. The Movies Industry will follow suit soon after.

Thank You Steve Jobs for being the man who Killed DRM.

 

[redfirebird08]

This is a big step in the right direction. Hopefully the industry will allow users to choose between different levels of quality: $2 per song for lossless, etc. on down the line (a ridiculous rate when you consider that most albums in a physical store don't cost $2 per song and they are lossless). Besides the fact that I think online downloads are a ripoff based on the product you receive, I think this is still a huge step in the right direction. DRM is even worse than overpricing.

 

[redfirebird08]

The fact that the non-DRMd tracks won't be available in May and the lack of any other announcement today makes me think there will be a May music event.

1. There hasn't been a music event in a while.

2. Steve was noncommittal today on The Beatles.

3. The Beatles and Radiohead are the two biggest acts not on iTS, and both are on EMI.

4. TV is almost certainly going to get HD content soon.

5. Two big summer sequels start in May (Spiderman 3, Shrek 3), so Apple and the studios would have a good promotional opportunity to bring out the earlier movies in HD.

6. iTunes will probably need tweaks for the iPhone.

7. Apple has another couple of months to get another major record label or two on board with non-DRM music. (Steve hinted that others are in the wings.)

8. If there's not going to be a widescreen iPod until three or four months after the iPhone lands, May would be a good time to bump up drive size in the iPod, nano and shuffle.

9. A May iPod/iTunes announcement would clear the deck for Leopard and hardware in June.

Pirates 3 also comes out this May. Pirates is in Steve's court far more than the other two so that could be more achievable.

 

[MacVault]

Great News, But...

This DRM-free-ness is TOTALLY, AWSOME, 1000% GREAT NEWS! But....
WHERE THE F$#&K IS MY LEOPARD???

 

[bartelby]

But....
WHERE THE F$#&K IS MY LEOPARD???

I don't know. Did you leave you're garden gate open?
You could try flyering the neighbourhood, someone must have seen a big cat roaming around.

 

[Diatribe]

What the hell? If I can hear a difference, I can hear a difference - it's not about understanding it or not. At the end of the day, lossy audio compression takes away information, and that will affect the sound. At 128kps the codec takes away quite a lot, and although the AAC algorithm is loads better than the MP3 one (in general), it's still going to have a considerable impact if you have decent equipment.

Are you seriously saying that 128kps AAC is indistinguishable from a CD?

I am afraid he is.

 

[Rantipole]

Posted in March 2005, beyotches!

I'm betting this will happen with a price increase. 128, 99 cents; 256, $1.49.

https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=1323193#post1323193

 

[Cult Follower]

This is sooo exciting! We are finally oving forward into the future of music distribution