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iTunes DRM-Free Tracks Now Same Price As DRM Tracks
jawtheshark writes "Apple has made the decision to revise the pricing of Plus songs on the iTunes Music store. Whereas previously the DRM-less tracks were more expensive than the 'normal' option (at $1.29 vs. $0.99), DRM-less tracks bought via ITMS will now be priced on the same level as DRM'd tracks. 'Apple plans to expand iTunes Plus to include certain indie music labels starting Wednesday, October 17 (or sometime this week, at least) ... This expansion won't include all independent music labels just yet, although we're optimistic that more will be included in the future. While we have no information on whether the iTunes Plus songs are selling well, we assume that the decision to drop the price is a response to the Amazon MP3 store. Amazon sells individual tracks for between 89 and 99 apiece, all without any DRM restrictions. With that in mind, it's kind of hard for Apple to compete at $1.29.'"
I know it's nothing novel to complain about the quality of Slashdot summaries, but it really would have been nice to mention that the new price for all songs is 99. The last line in the current summary gives the impression that they were all going to be $1.29...
The Non-DRM songs are called "iTunes Plus", they show up in your play list with a "+" next to them. I've upgraded a few of my songs from the DRM to non-DRM versions for $.30, I wonder if they will be offering free upgrades for those who haven't upgraded already?
Taking guns away from the 99% gives the 1% 100% of the power.
As I understand it, they're 256kbps AAC files. Which is good, because it's a much better codec than mp3. It's also something of a myth that only iPods play them; lots of other machines, from PSPs via Zunes and Zens to Nokia mobile phones can handle the format.
"I Know You Are But What Am I?"
i would hardly call AAC obscure. it has more device market penetration than WMA, that real defecation and OGG combined. even the zune plays AACs! ;)
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That they won't offer anything other than AAC.
AAC is just the MPEG 4 audio codec, it's a publicly defined standard, and somewhat better quality than MP3 for equivalent file sizes. There are a few other media players that support it... but most only support MP3 and Microsoft's proprietary WMA. It's ironic, too, when some company whines about Apple's "non-standard" formats when it's *their* decision, not Apple's, not to support MP4.
One wonders if Microsoft cuts them a deal on the license for WMA if they leave out MP4/AAC, OGG, etcetera...
You can transcode to MP3 if you need to, if you must buy a media player from a company that kowtows to Redmond.