I first mentioned that Steve Jobs was interesting in offering DRM-free music in this post from February 6. Today Apple announced that EMI will offer files without DRM (digital rights management) on iTunes, for an extra 30 cents per track. These files will be delivered in Apple’s AAC format and encoded at 256 kbps, which is twice the quality that EMI was offering. iTunes customers can upgrade EMI songs that they previously purchased from iTunes for 30 cents per track.
Whether or not consumers will pay for the freedom to copy their digital tracks remains to be seen.
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