Apple rumored to be turning iTunes into a DRM-free music store UPDATE: Not anytime soon

We can't count the number of times we've heard from one random source or another that Apple was about to pull the trigger on a subscription-based / 100% DRM-free music service, and given how those have worked out in the past, we'd highly recommend taking this one with a huge dose of salt. French site ElectronLibre has it that Apple will finally offer up all of its music in DRM-free form starting as early as tomorrow, specifically calling out Sony, Universal and Warner as outfits who would join the protection-free cause. Should this happen, it would obviously be a dream come true for ole Steve, but we're still left to wonder what would happen to bitrates, prices and (potentially most important) all other iTMS content. Something tells us Hollywood isn't quite as ready to release its death grip.

Update: Don't hold your breath -- CNET says that while Apple is in negotiations with the bigs to go DRM-free, nothing's set in stone and changes are unlikely before the end of the year. Amazon it is!

[Via AppleInsider]

[RaFy186 @ Dec 8th 2008 11:13PM]

I'll believe it when I see it. But that would be great news!

[Richard @ Dec 9th 2008 12:16AM]

I'd give up my zune and go back to the ipod if this happened. The lack of a subscription option is the only thing keeping me away.

[Asha @ Dec 9th 2008 12:33AM]

I know. If it is for real, it'll be a step in the right direction for the iTunes Store.

[nohone @ Dec 9th 2008 3:01AM]

@Richard:

Why give up your Zune? If, and that is a big if, your buy from DRM free from iTMS, it will work just fine on your Zune.

[ah-palin @ Dec 9th 2008 3:13AM]

So I can finally listen to beetles !

[Richard @ Dec 9th 2008 9:25AM]

@Nohone:

That's true, but my reason for giving up the Zune would be the lack of accessories for it. Everywhere you look something is "Made for iPod" and every other car stereo has built in iPod controls/display. No such luck with the Zune and it doesn't look like that is going to change anytime soon.

[NickNick @ Dec 9th 2008 10:20AM]

Don't give up the Zune. the coolest guy on earth obama uses the zune!

take that iEye :)

[Ray @ Dec 9th 2008 10:43AM]

@NickNick

With the way apple is run and his lack of shame fanboyism, i bet iEyes a communist

[bfitch @ Dec 9th 2008 11:29AM]

According to the boys at PA, the Zune almost cost Obama the Presidency....

http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2008/12/8/

[bartoron @ Dec 8th 2008 11:15PM]

When pigs fly...

[who? @ Dec 9th 2008 12:08AM]

These people will probably ship pet pigs via airliner:

http://animaltransportation.com/

[eggothewaffle @ Dec 8th 2008 11:18PM]

In other news, the Mac Pro will support Quadro CX and FX 5800 video cards along with all the GT200 and HD4800 series cards out there by Nvidia and ATI.

This just in! The iPhone 3G will be a stable device which lets you multitask, copy and paste, and a variety of features that actual smartphone users have been used to for years.

Today is a good day.

[who? @ Dec 8th 2008 11:21PM]

1. On topic please.
2. Do you think those things matter?

[who? @ Dec 8th 2008 11:19PM]

This has been buzzing forever, I wouldn't be surprised if it came to fruition. Who here would buy from iTunes if they were DRM free?

[mvp @ Dec 8th 2008 11:25PM]

I wouldn't! Why would I wanna lose the five finger deal I got going?

[Cormier6083 @ Dec 8th 2008 11:31PM]

I would.

But then I do have a Mac. And an iPod. And an iPhone. And an Apple TV.

Just living the iLife™.

[L.M.L.Y.P @ Dec 9th 2008 2:08AM]

Cormier6083, thats just sad.

[Chris McDowell @ Dec 9th 2008 12:45AM]

Been buying DRM free music from apple from what they have available now. Seems to be growing very slowly.

[Mobius_1 @ Dec 9th 2008 2:48AM]

I still prefer CDs, and most my digital music is from Beatport.

[Surfaced @ Dec 9th 2008 2:55AM]

I still wouldn't buy. Not until they offer music in lossless flavor for a similar price.

[nikster @ Dec 9th 2008 8:30PM]

That's not the question - they'd sell shitloads more music if it was DRM free, and perhaps put Amazon music service out of business.

But that's not in the interest of the music industry. The MI wants multiple vendors, and they don't mind one bit if the ITMS is hurting. They figure if somebody doesn't want DRM, they'll go buy their music from somebody else. That and I think they want to punish Apple some more for it's insistence over controlling the price.

[Blacksheep @ Dec 8th 2008 11:25PM]

Ummm, Amazon has you beat by like a year already Apple. But hey, they could always use some DRM-free competition ;)

[who? @ Dec 8th 2008 11:37PM]

Although I mostly agree with you, there are some circumstances in which iTunes would best Amazon's services.

For example, Amazon music can't be downloaded to iPod touches/iPhones on the go, while iTunes music can. It would therefore make much more sense to purchase from iTunes in such a scenario. Also, many iTunes users (including me) would find it much more convenient to simply download from the iTunes store than from Amazon, especially those with Macs.

[Darren @ Dec 8th 2008 11:51PM]

iTunes started selling DRM-free music before Amazon even opened.

You'll recall that some European governments, with the support of the record industry, were calling on Apple to license their DRM to other vendors. If Apple had caved in and licensed their DRM, the DRM-free Amazon store would never have happened. Instead, Jobs famously called on the record companies to go DRM-free. EMI bit and went DRM-free in iTunes, and the DRM-free Amazon store opened later that year.

It now appears the rest of the major record labels have agreed to go DRM-free in iTunes, and that's good news (if audio-DRM is a challenging problem for you, anyway...)

[VanillaSpice @ Dec 9th 2008 9:28PM]

Everything Darren said, was accurate - check it up. No bias, no smart-arse comments, no fanboy-ism of any kind, he just put down a few easily-verified facts. And yet he gets low-ranked. Proof the anti-Apple fanboys are the ones ruining the Engadget comments section, rather than the pro-Apple fanboys, as is commonly assumed and stated.

[kamakaze @ Dec 8th 2008 11:28PM]

ahaha! good one engadget! it's not even april yet!

[[and that story was posted at 11:11! i just wanted to point that out]]

[who? @ Dec 8th 2008 11:43PM]

Although the 11:11 PM posting time is interesting (nice catch by the way), it is most likely a coincidence.

Engadget wasn't the first site to post this today. This has been on just about every other news site (Electron Libre, AppleInsider, Gizmodo ect.) a half an hour or more.

[Frank @ Dec 8th 2008 11:29PM]

I will never buy an mp3 unless it is DRM free.

[who? @ Dec 8th 2008 11:52PM]

What if it was free, but with DRM :P?

[Mikey @ Dec 9th 2008 12:13AM]

@ who?

If it were free would he be buying it or receiving it?

[who? @ Dec 9th 2008 12:15AM]

@Mikey

The one free song a week you can get off iTunes (which I believe is protected) goes under 'purchases,' so I count it as such.

[El Capitaine @ Dec 9th 2008 12:32AM]

neither will anyone else.

mp3 can't have DRM...

iTunes currently sells protected-AAC

[9bit @ Dec 9th 2008 12:47AM]

mp3s never have DRM. iTunes sells AAC encoded files.

[Chris McDowell @ Dec 9th 2008 12:49AM]

I don't think the one holding this back is Apple. I think it is the record companies. Apple has music under iTunes Plus that is DRM free and cost the same now as a regular protected file. Record companies I think are the ones giving the license to Amazon and not Apple.

[who? @ Dec 9th 2008 12:52AM]

@Chris

Aww, don't spoil the kids fun now!

[patriotsn1 @ Dec 8th 2008 11:29PM]

I would LOVE to see less of his face...

[Brandon L @ Dec 8th 2008 11:29PM]

MUSIC being the operative word there. I won't care unless I can easily export movies bought on iTunes onto DVD and make them viewable/playable on other players.

[anythingbutapple @ Dec 8th 2008 11:30PM]

Apple Inc. has made exactly $0 from me. I've been using computers and consumer electronics since the mid-1970's. And since the movie "The Pirates of Silicon Valley" came out, I just can't get its portrayal out of my head of what a messed up guy Jobs is. As it stands right now I don't think he'd be able to sell me water for a buck in Death Valley.

[CraigJ @ Dec 8th 2008 11:39PM]

Steve Jobs is NOT the company. Yes, he is an asshole, and I wouldn't want to sit down and have a beer with him, but, the same can be said about many CEOs. If I applied your logic to actors, for example, there are a lot of good movies I wouldn't see.

[Michael Scrip @ Dec 8th 2008 11:48PM]

> "Apple Inc. has made exactly $0 from me."

They're sitting on $25 billion in cash and zero debt. They are doing just fine without you.

[Darren @ Dec 8th 2008 11:52PM]

That's kind of pathetic. It's just software.

[anythingbutapple @ Dec 9th 2008 12:40AM]

I did compromise my principles to watch Nicholas Cage's movies. I hate Nicholas Cage as much as Jobs but Cage gets gets all the good scripts.

In the early 1980's Burger King's ad campaign strategy was to mercilessly slam McDonald's. I found this so irritating that I boycotted Burger King. Apple's current ad campaign has the same effect on me I guess. I don't know. Maybe Jobs is gonna be ugly to the wrong person one day and have his $25 billion dollars taken from him in a very public and nasty fashion. Its happened to other CEOs before.

Personally though, I just don't like the idea of buying 'boutique' consumer electronics. Now what I'm saying is coming from a musician - Apple, Jobs or any big corporation didn't create the music. Its all about the musicians and their music. You think anybody is going to remember Steve Jobs or Apple Inc. in fifty years? Like we do Handel, Bruckner or Chopin? Who was Jimmi Hendrix's manager? Do you remember or even know? Do you crave listening to your 45rpm vinyl records? Nobody even remembers them now.

I've personally used 45 and 33 rpm records, reel-to-reel tape, eight track, cassette, AM, FM to listen to music. All going or gone. Who created them? Do you even remember Akio Morita? He was a great man, a genuine genius.

I guess I don't like the idea of one person/corporation controlling something I hold so dearly. I think its an insane concept.

[puhsitch @ Dec 9th 2008 1:17AM]

anythingbutapple, the unfortunate irony is that you're letting these companies possess way too much control over you.

[L.M.L.Y.P @ Dec 9th 2008 2:14AM]

you see what i do is downloading multiple copies of OSX burn it on a dvd, then throw it out the window.
then i seed multiple torrents of it.
im costing them trillions!

and never got a penny from me :)

[Mobius_1 @ Dec 9th 2008 2:50AM]

Hey, if he's paying for that beer, I don't mind, just put some earplugs on to avoid teh brainwash.

[arash @ Dec 9th 2008 3:05AM]

yeah apple boycotters increase

[Eric B. @ Dec 8th 2008 11:31PM]

way to be a year behind Amazon iFail!

[CraigJ @ Dec 8th 2008 11:42PM]

Amazon is a subscription service? I thought it was 89 or 99 cents per song, not subscription based.

[Kelmon @ Dec 9th 2008 3:12AM]

Yeah, but who's fault is that? It is well known that the record companies did a deal with Amazon (well, more specifically, anyone but Apple) in order to try and retrieve the power that the used to have from iTunes.

The other thing that should be noted is that Amazon only has a service for the US and UK so iTunes pretty much has the rest of the world to itself.

Everything in perspective...

[chefgon_ign @ Dec 9th 2008 6:57AM]

@CraigJ

The above article does not say anything about iTunes adding a subscription service, it's just mentioned offhand as one of the two rumors that won't go away. This specific rumor is about DRM free content.