Comments on: DRM-free iTunes Store to haunt Apple?

Songs the company sells are no longer wrapped in copyright protection software. It's good for consumers and record labels, but will it also be good for Apple in the long term?

[rgersmrk]

There are many more problems plaguing ITunes beyond DRM. Even with that gone I still refuse to install ITunes on any Windows machine due to how crappy it runs and how much of a system hog it is. I turned away from ITunes a long time ago and started using Amazon. There is no reason to turn back as far as I am concerned.

[byundt]

The music industry tried to diminish the power that Apple had by offering content at lower prices to other distributors. According to anti-trust law, they can do so only as long as Apple is not selling the same merchandise. DRM and "quality" are valid differentiating factors.

When both DRM-free and "normal quality/high quality" versions of each song are available at iTunes store, then the music industry will no longer be able to offer lower prices to the smaller distributors. They will need to make a profit without the economy of scale possessed by Apple. I don't see it happening.

[jahrends]

Where did he say that DRM is completely removed? He did not say that. You will have the option of buying any track without DRM or upgrading your existing library at 30 cents more. He did not say that they will stop selling tracks with DRM.

[Atlantean]

I was planning to read this article. Until I saw it was written by Don Reisinger. Seriously, who reads this guy?

[patrick_i]

I think Apple believes, and many journalist seem to believe the same thing, that iPod sales (Shuffle, Nano and Classic) will start declining perhaps because of market saturation and the shift in focus to more flexible devices such as the Touch or iPhone. I think portable media players (of any brand) will lose ground to theses devices such as the iPhone or any media playing phone. Arguably, Apple has the best device in this category at least for the time being and the best interface (iTunes) for the media and apps. That said, would I buy any other portable media player? No. It always comes down to which iPod to buy. Anyone I know who has ever bought one will always get another one to replace or add to the old one.... no questions asked.

[skwerlhater0]

Actually, I'll admit it. I purchased one of the new iPod nanos rather than a Zune because I have so much music purchased from iTunes. It was too hard to change all of them over to a compatible, non-DRM format. The fact that the nano was so appealing otherwise helped, but it was the basis of my decision.

[joshdeboer]

Ya, now your stuck using an iPod for all that money you burned, I mean spent. Why people lock themselves into Apple is beyond me. FLAC FLAC FLAC people!

[eldernorm]

Ignore the pundits who downgrade your choice. Its your choice and I think you will be happy with it. PS.** now that you have spent the money (now matter what brand) just enjoy your purchase. It will make you happier to see the good side than complain about any minor issues, so .... again..... just enjoy your purchase.

** a wise comment that a friend of mine made to me long ago. :-)

Just a thought.
en

[daisy-blue]

Sounds good.However,I'm wondering how many songs will be priced $1.29 and the amount of music priced $0.69.

Also,I hope Apple gives more options on upgrading my original purchases. I have hundreds of music in my itunes library,and I'm counting the money that will cost if I update all of them!

So,I still use software to help me:
http://www.flash-on-tv.com/media-converter.html#141

I'll just wait for Apple to carry out more actions.

[banzaigtv]

It is great that iTunes is removing the DRM tags off music. Now I could run iTunes-purchased music through MP3Gain instead of having to adjust the volume levels manually. I don't think that this move will hurt iTunes in the long run. iTunes is simply the best online music store out there. It's the only online store in existence that does not shut down every 24-36 hours like all of the other ones do. Even paying $5 for a single song in iTunes is definitely worth it if it's the only place that I could get it while the other sites constantly go down all the time.

[davidzotter]

The easier it is for people to share music with their friends..... the larger population of tracks in circulating in population..... the more Ipods needed to play said tracks.

Apples makes more on selling the iPods than the music.

[joshdeboer]

iPods are just trendy. Monkey see...monkey do. I have been using Macs for over 12 years. I don't use iTunes nor do I use iPods. I would rather listen to AIX records disks or SACD's on high quality setup. Oh, when I do listen to music on the go, I use a Cowon player. FLAC over 128 Kbps crap anyday for me anyway.

[Waam]

The argument for free DRM is easy, the market it definitely saturated now. How long do you think Apple can keep dominating the market as the cheap MP3 keep flooding the market. They would be fools to think that people will think the iPod is the only game in town. Apple proved to us a long time ago that they would rather choose a healthy bottom line before sacrificing a limb for market share.

Yes, they may lose some sales of iPods from this to competitors, but they also stand to gain many iTunes customers as well. In fact, I can see them inviting Sandisk and Creative aboard with an iTunes compatible sticker. There are many ways they can make money this way.

[nowimcool]

"After all, leading companies commit blunders all the time, and in a matter of months, they're overtaken by more nimble competitors. Sure, it hasn't happened to Apple yet, but that doesn't mean that it can't."

Don, are you serious?? You're a tech column writer?? Someone at CNet PLEASE read these blogs, this just make CNet look awful!

Don, I suggest you start studying the history of Microsoft and Apple from 1975-1989, and you'll discover how wrong that sentence is.

[SeaLawyer]

The silliness of this article astounds me!!

I've owned every major brand of "mp3 player", and several minor brands. DRM is what KEPT me from buying an iPod sooner... Finally breaking down and buying an iPod a couple years ago and realizing what a SUPERBLY QUALITY product it is (including iTunes) is what sold me on buying a Mac. I had two last gripes with the Apple - DRM and not-cd-quality sound. Though I've had the iPod for almost two years, I've bought just two albums on iTunes -- that's it!! All my other music shopping was Amazon - which usually was just to buy the CD, but sometimes the downloads (also for sampling clips before iTunes added that). I want no DRM and cd-quality (or REALLY close too it and still have portability) sound. Apple has just done that, and in doing so just stole all my music business (and I suspect hundreds of thousands of other users) from Amazon.

Haunt them? Not even close!! Help them even further dominate (virtually annihilate!) the online music market? You got it pal!!

[canberra_photographer]

Apple uses AAC on the iTunes store which time and again has been shown to offer better audio quality than MP3 which other music stores use. The iPods are unique and the iTunes store is a very popular and well done music store so both will continue quite strongly.

[sting7k]

"Isn't it true that one of the main advantages the iPod had over any other device on the market is its link to iTunes?" - Yes that is true, the tight integration with iTunes is it's main advantage along with ease of use.

"And isn't it true that the link was only made possible with DRM?" - Uh, what are you smoking? iTunes can play seemingly any audio file but Windows Media formats. I know A LOT of people who all owned iPods but never bought a single song from iTunes, just because iTunes was so easy to use. DRM merely tied them to that forever, something no one was sure they wanted. DRM was not the reason the iPod has such great integration with iTunes, that is just a crazy idea.

"Now that its DRM advantage is gone, what's stopping you from buying competing products from iRiver, SanDisk, and others?" Do any of those devices even come close to rivaling the iPod (and iPhone now) and iTunes? No, that's why no one will stop buying iPods.

I think there will be a new resurgence on the iTunes store with everyone who had been holding out because of DRM. But I don't see that many people buying from iTunes to load up another MP3 player, I just don't see it.

[randomdude1]

wow man congratulations, you just made me a new account on cnet just to express my feelings over how RETARDED you are. seriously, with your kind of logic our wold would be doomed.

get some brains please

I have never bought songs from iTunes, mostly because of the DRM. I think all DRM is inherently flawed because it will eventually become obsolete, the number of computers will run out, or other factors too numerous and complicated to think about. I can afford to buy all the songs I listen, and that is what I will likely do. There is so much growth potential in music sales once DRM is removed that all the things people think are important now may seem quaint in a few years time. Maybe now i will also buy a new iPod as well!

[2001Oz2001]

Hold the phone, ITunes only works with apple devices regardless if the tracks have DRM or not. It you want to use iTunes to manage you music without a third party hack, you need to buy an Apple product. Apple will surely break any third party hacks with updates to iTunes forcing the consumer to choose between iTunes linked iPods and other devices. I don't think the author understands that DRM was only part of what makes iTunes an iPod exclusive program. I don't think consumers will easily abandoned their playlists and the fact they understand how iTunes works for a different music management service and player unless it is the shnitz jiggily.

[wuchmee]

>> Isn't it true that one of the main advantages the iPod had over any other device on the market is its link to iTunes? And isn't it true that the link was only made possible with DRM? <<

Is your logic always this sloppy? Next time, create a coherent argument before posting. Jeez.

[applsoft]

You forget that the vast majority of people (the general public) that bought all forms of Ipods had no idea what DRM protection was and probably still have no idea what it WAS, now that it's gone. I would say at least 80% of people with some form of Ipod product would respond to the question "aren't you upset about the DRM limitations on the songs".... by saying "what?".