It was a sad day this past Tuesday for almost everyone except the record labels when Apple put in place the variable pricing scheme they’ve been promising since announcing their entire library would be going DRM-free. At the very least, many thought they could take refuge in the safety and comfort of iTunes rivals Amazon [...]
Way back in January, at Macworld 2009 (the last Apple Macworld, remember?), Apple announced a change in the pricing structure for iTunes songs.
The new model, which basically seems to have been a concession to music publishers in order to secure DRM-free tracks, prices individual songs at 69 cents, 99 cents, and $1.29. Currently, all iTunes [...]
Much has been made about the new iPod shuffle’s neat new features, like voiceover narration to make up for the lack of a display, and its incredibly small form factor. Much more, perhaps, has been made about the limitations the new form factor presents, since it lacks physical controls on the device itself, and [...]
Rockstar Games, makers of the extremely popular Grand Theft Auto franchise, are picking up and moving a very lucrative music partnership from Amazon to iTunes, which offers players of GTA IV the opportunity to purchase tracks used in the game’s soundtrack.
The reason for the switch? Apple’s (a AAPL) decision to finally go DRM-free. Rockstar had [...]
Many hailed the removal of digital rights management (DRM) from the vast majority of iTunes track, a move announced and acted upon last week at the Macworld trade show.
The removal applied to 90 percent of Apple’s library, and plans are to extend it to the rest in short order. Many suspect that record labels agreed [...]
Like many users, I’m pleased that the labels are finally allowing Apple to sell music free of DRM copy protection. Given that the labels have allowed this for many other vendors (Amazon, Wal-Mart, Zune Store, etc.) I think they’ve been flirting with collusion on the iTunes store for a while anyway.
What I’m happiest about is [...]
Apple announced today that it’s bringing some major changes to the iTunes Music Store. Most notable among the announcements is their shift to making its entire 10M-plus song library completely DRM-free.
Prior to today, Apple’s iTunes Plus selection was fairly slim. Now, all songs from the four major labels, as well as the plethora of independent [...]
In what seems like another addition to a long list of examples of how when you rent digital content, you’re actually renting it with a strict set of conditions, Apple owners are running into trouble with High Definition Content Protection (HDCP). The problem, affecting owners of the new aluminum MacBooks and MacBook Pro, occurs when [...]
The BBC’s iPlayer is nothing short of a digital revelation — providing viewers in the United Kingdom with online access to an ever-changing (and free) selection of the BBC’s internationally-revered quality programming.
For an increasing number of us Brit’s, BBC.co.uk/iPlayer is the site we surreptitiously visit on our lunch-breaks at work and the destination for catching up on [...]
Norway has taken their two-year fight against iTunes and Apple’s FairPlay DRM to its next step, and will now ask the government to force Apple to open their iTunes music to other devices besides the iPod.
As background, this all began when Norway’s consumer ombudsman, Bjorn Erik Thon, ruled that Apple’s FairPlay DRM violated the country’s consumer rights [...]
We reported earlier on the possibility of a 66% raise in royalty fees for digital music distributors. Have no fear readers, the iTunes store will continue offering the generous service of providing somewhere for you to dump all that spare cash. According to CNET News, the Copyright Royalty Board informed interested parties yesterday [...]
Fortune has an article on an upcoming ruling by the Copyright Royalty Board where artists are proposing a 6 cent (66%) hike in the per-track royalties they receive for digital music retail sales. Needless to say, Apple is not happy with this situation and has indicated that the continued operation of the iTunes store would [...]
There is a lot of buzz surrounding music labels’ agreements to sell DRM-free music in marketplaces other than the iTunes Music Store. The problem is that they miss the big picture. They don’t pay attention to the two things that really matter.
People want to be able to buy their music easily
People want their purchased music [...]
Netflix and Napster are both launching assaults on Apple, today. CNET is reporting the release of Netflix’s Apple TV rival, simply called Player by Roku, and Napster is getting into the digital music distribution with apparently an identical model to iTunes ($0.99 a song, $9.95 an album).
I am all for competition, but I don’t think [...]
We received three inches of snow last Thursday, but I wasn’t worried. We had plenty of white supplies (bread, milk, toilet paper) stocked up, so we didn’t have to venture to the grocery store. NetFlix said two DVDs would be delivered that afternoon. So before dinner, I ventured down to the mailbox to retrieve [...]
It appears that we may be hearing from Apple in a few hours, on the topic of DRM-Free digital music downloads. Details seem to indicate that the EMI tracks that have historically been available for $1.29 without any copy protection, will drop to the normal $.99 price point. Along with EMI, some Indie [...]
Today Amazon launched its public beta of Amazon MP3. Amazon MP3 is Amazon.com’s foray into the digital music scene…and a it’s an extremely solid effort to say the least.
Pricing per song is between 89 and 99 cents and albums between $4.99 and $9.99. The Top 100 albums are being priced at the lower amounts, which [...]
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