Following yesterdays announcement from EMI that they are to remove DRM from their entire digital download catalogue, and initially make the DRM free versions available on iTunes (at a higher bit rate, and at a higher price), a few questions remain.
1. Apple will continue to sell the DRM, low quality versions as they do now. What is the logic in implementing DRM on low bitrate files? Numerous sites offer unprotected sound samples in lower bit rates, the whole point being that the sound quality isn't good enough to bother copying it.
2. I hope that the following statement means some sites will soon start offering officially sanctioned lossless downloads: EMI expects that consumers will be able to purchase higher quality DRM-free downloads from a variety of digital music stores within the coming weeks, with each retailer choosing whether to sell downloads in AAC, WMA, MP3 or other unprotected formats of their choice.
3. Why won't Apple make the files available in MP3 format? While it is not the best format around, it is the widest used - there are plenty of players out there that do not support AAC. I guess we will have to wait and see who else will carry the DRM free files.
4. Can we now expect Apple to remove the DRM on the Independent music they carry, that is available elsewhere without DRM?
While this is a good first move, we will need to see how things pan out over the next few months, and what other record labels, if any, follow EMI's lead. Personally, I feel the price rise is a bit much, even though I accept that bandwidth costs will increase with the bigger file sizes of the higher bit rate downloads - in the UK, the existing iTunes offering is overpriced for what it offers.
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