With sales on a seemingly endless decline, EMI Group announced that it will now start to sell its songs on Apple iTunes (AAPL) without the hated DRM anti-piracy software that has been alienating users for so long. The pricing for the new DRM-free songs will be $1.29 a song.
The new songs will be offered starting in May across the entire EMI catalog without the restrictions of DRM software.
Included with the extra 30 cents a download without restrictions, will be a faster download time along with higher quality audio. Apple said that the new songs will be sold at 256 kbps AAC, in contrast to the usual 128-kbps AAC encoding.
"We are going to give iTunes customers a choice--the current versions of our songs for the same 99-cent price, or new DRM-free versions of the same songs with even higher audio quality and the security of interoperability for just 30 cents more," says Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO, in a press release. "We think our customers are going to love this."
Apple added that by the end of the year they expect that about half of the catalog they sell will be available DRM-free. Those who have purchased song through iTunes will be given the option of paying an extra 30 cents to upgrade their tracks, or even a one-click option where you can upload the entire library you've purchased.
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