I guess this an an obvious response to what has been going on with the record industry. Digital downloads are up, but are mostly on singles, so they raise the price on singles and make albums look more appealing. With this kind of structure, it probably looks more tempting to other albums. Once everybody goes this way, I wouldn't be surprised to see $0.99 DRM tracks quietly vanish. The labels get to raise prices, and Jobs doesn't looks like he's directly giving into them, and he get what he wants too, no DRM.
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Apple/EMI Press Conference Coverage
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Maybe I'm none too clever, but I thought that you paid less for iTunes tracks because they didn't come with all the CD and packaging, transportation, shelving costs, etc.
Anyway, this was not really very exciting for the man on the street - next rumour please.
This has nothing to do with ethics. They make more money on album downloads than singles. So this policy does the following:
- makes album downloads more attractive relative to singles, encouraging some singles sales to shift to albums
- gives the music companies the opportunity to make more money on singles that do get downloaded
Don't forget, while there is only one way to buy singles (downloads) there are two ways to buy albums (downloads or CDs). So album downloads have to stay competitive with CDs. CDs have the advantage of "hard copy" which many people prefer, so download albums need an advantage of their own (in this case, price).
My Thoughts on the EMI/Apple Announcement...
A very possitive change for users and the industry. But I think the DRM offerings should be lowered to about $0.79 / track, and the new DRM-free 256kbps songs should take the $0.99 price.
Also, someone asked Steve how this removing of the DRM will relate to videos and movies. Steve said video/movie content is a different thing altogether when it comes to this because unlike 90% of music out there, Movies and Videos are not sold without DRM on physical media. So, Steve uses this to say or indicate that video content should not be sold DRM-free. But he does not address the interoperability issue here.
At ~$9 per movie on iTunes, I am way less likely to buy a movie with DRM than I am to buy a $0.99 song with DRM. Steve: I would like my movies to be just as interoperable as the new DRM-free 256K EMI songs you will now be selling. I don't give a rats flying @$$ what percentage of DRMed movie content is sold on physical media.
A very possitive change for users and the industry. But I think the DRM offerings should be lowered to about $0.79 / track, and the new DRM-free 256kbps songs should take the $0.99 price.
Also, someone asked Steve how this removing of the DRM will relate to videos and movies. Steve said video/movie content is a different thing altogether when it comes to this because unlike 90% of music out there, Movies and Videos are not sold without DRM on physical media. So, Steve uses this to say or indicate that video content should not be sold DRM-free. But he does not address the interoperability issue here.
At ~$9 per movie on iTunes, I am way less likely to buy a movie with DRM than I am to buy a $0.99 song with DRM. Steve: I would like my movies to be just as interoperable as the new DRM-free 256K EMI songs you will now be selling. I don't give a rats flying @$$ what percentage of DRMed movie content is sold on physical media.
256K AAC music is going to sound fantastic on my 
TV in my living room. I'm so impressed. I can't wait.
TV in my living room. I'm so impressed. I can't wait.
Everyone hears sound differently. Which means, some people will be able to hear the difference. Other won't...
I was comparing the cheap downloads to the "premium" downloads. You get more with the premium, so you pay more. And iTunes is still cheaper than physical CD's. CD's are usually between 19-21e over here. I could get them with 9.99e from ITMS.
More illegal distribution
So now one person can now download a song for 30 cents more and email/copy it to their friends and they can play it no problem?
Hmm...the only thing you need is a player that plays AAC? Steve must be grinning ear-to-ear as this will completely increase sales of iPods.
Buy an iPod - use your friends music.
So now one person can now download a song for 30 cents more and email/copy it to their friends and they can play it no problem?
Hmm...the only thing you need is a player that plays AAC? Steve must be grinning ear-to-ear as this will completely increase sales of iPods.
Buy an iPod - use your friends music.
Good points. Also, with the new "Complete my album" option, the leftover price will be like 8.70 or something, and will look more appealing.
If I want a CD on EMI in the next few months, iTunes purchase will definitely look more appealing. Well Done Apple!
Maybe they'll pull the same thing with video and up the quality to HD and make it DRM free. The quality is a much bigger issue on video that for music for me, not to mention it's harder to circumvent the DRM with the video than music.
This is a very smart move by Apple (and EMI for that matter). The record companies have been complaining about iTunes' rigid price structure for ages, but have also been very confident in the merits of DRM. Now Steve's basically telling them: You want premium prices? Then get rid of DRM and increase the audio quality. Otherwise, you end up offering inferior products at lower prices. I believe the rest of the music industry will rush in once they get the message.
About the questions and answers: it's a pity that no-one asked if the tracks will be "watermarked" or not.
/Galex
About the questions and answers: it's a pity that no-one asked if the tracks will be "watermarked" or not.
/Galex
Yeah thats how its always been.
Its why the iPod was so huge to begin with. DRM has never been big in the music industry. Have you never heard of putting your friends music on your iPod??? Nothing new here.
The thing is, people still buy CDs. Its real easy for me to get free music, but I buy it anyway in order to support the industry and the artist, and also to feel good about the music I listen to. If a friend gives me some mp3s and I like them, I'll buy the CD. This DRM-free music will definitely appeal to people like me, who buy music as a way of supporting the labels and artists we like.
Yes, I see your point. This might convince some people to download an album instead of buy a CD.
I have done a few crude experiments where I would play the first 5 seconds of a song that I ripped, then play the same song from a CD. Even at high sample rates, the highs were higher, and the sound quality a bit less "muddy" from the CD, but if I hadn't done my little experiment, I would never have noticed it.
if you had trouble listening to the live webcast...
I work for the company contracted to stream this webcast. We are mostly a MacOSX shop here, we use exclusively Mac systems for video/audio capture, editing with Final Cut Pro, and program post-production. So, credentials out of the way....
There will be an MP3 (Podcast) encode of this webcast available for download on the EMI website later this afternoon, for those of you that missed it live.
(And yes, we'll be asking our developers to look at the Safari compatibility issue that some of you noted in emails to our support desk...)
I work for the company contracted to stream this webcast. We are mostly a MacOSX shop here, we use exclusively Mac systems for video/audio capture, editing with Final Cut Pro, and program post-production. So, credentials out of the way....
There will be an MP3 (Podcast) encode of this webcast available for download on the EMI website later this afternoon, for those of you that missed it live.
(And yes, we'll be asking our developers to look at the Safari compatibility issue that some of you noted in emails to our support desk...)
On my Nano, no. On my kit at home, it can vary depending on the style of music, but very much so; hence my disappointment.
It's fantastic news. DRM-free 256kbps tracks are a MUCH more attractive proposition, even with the slight price increase.
I do hope most people do the right thing, but I'm sure the 'convert to MP3' feature of iTunes is going to be employed more than it used to be...
That said, if people are determined to pirate music, they'd could and probably will still just go straight to an illegal file-sharing service. So either way, existing DRM isn't really working, and I think that is the bottom line - this gives all the people who were put off by the DRM and low bit-rate less reason to resist the convenience of the iTunes Store for purchasing music and video. I hope other music companies follow suit quickly.
I do hope most people do the right thing, but I'm sure the 'convert to MP3' feature of iTunes is going to be employed more than it used to be...
That said, if people are determined to pirate music, they'd could and probably will still just go straight to an illegal file-sharing service. So either way, existing DRM isn't really working, and I think that is the bottom line - this gives all the people who were put off by the DRM and low bit-rate less reason to resist the convenience of the iTunes Store for purchasing music and video. I hope other music companies follow suit quickly.
Risky move for iPod
This is great news for consumers!
This proves Jobs' power over the industry and that he's a champion for providing value to consumers (unlike Microsoft who panders to big corporations at the expense of consumers).
However, I wonder how good this will be for Apple. My opinion has always been that the reason the iPod took off is that Jobs negotiated the best DRM policy for iTunes/iPod, its a reasonable tradeoff, reasonable number of devices, its great that you can burn it to a CD. Everyone else had unrealistically restricted DRM that locked you in far too much.
Now this makes everyone on the same playing field with no DRM. iPod might still do ok because its so pervasive, but it also makes it look more limited because it doesn't offer subscription mode, you can't share music etc.
I hope people remember that it was Apple and Jobs that removed DRM from music. This is a monumental step in the right direction!
This is great news for consumers!
This proves Jobs' power over the industry and that he's a champion for providing value to consumers (unlike Microsoft who panders to big corporations at the expense of consumers).
However, I wonder how good this will be for Apple. My opinion has always been that the reason the iPod took off is that Jobs negotiated the best DRM policy for iTunes/iPod, its a reasonable tradeoff, reasonable number of devices, its great that you can burn it to a CD. Everyone else had unrealistically restricted DRM that locked you in far too much.
Now this makes everyone on the same playing field with no DRM. iPod might still do ok because its so pervasive, but it also makes it look more limited because it doesn't offer subscription mode, you can't share music etc.
I hope people remember that it was Apple and Jobs that removed DRM from music. This is a monumental step in the right direction!
Well, I know what this consumer wants.
Fairplay is pretty non-intrusive in my book; so that never stopped me from buying songs on the ITMS. However the fact that music was only available at 128kbps did stop me from buying (much) from the store. I think the prices are a little high; but if I've decided to buy from ITMS I'm much more likely to spend the extra $0.30 to get the higher bit rate. However if I want the album, and the CD price is lower (like it often is, even at $0.99 a track) - I'll get the CD.
Press release
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.
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.
Technically, you shouldn't be able to hear a difference between 128Kbps AAC and 16-bit Linear PCM... but some people will insist that you can despite a total lack of any technical understanding of how perceptual coding schema work relative to the A-weighted spectrum.
I'll be supporting the premium tracks, but mainly to help boost the figures for non-DRM file sales.
Interesting. In addition to the value added price increase I wonder if this could be a test for other price structure changes? Price creep could result in better things in other areas perhaps? I liked the .99 cents across the board structure but I like the fact I might be able to put music onto a different device also.
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.
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.
i hope so