Itunes goes DRM Free + RIAA still thinks sharing is illegal – Indie News

At last the death knell begins to sound for the relatively ridiculous idea of DRM or Digital Rights Management, and Itunes gets to take another leap forward, for better or worse, according to this article from the Wired blog:

After years of fits, starts, threats and ultimatums, Steve Jobs and three major labels have come to terms on a deal: Music will be available immediately on iTunes without DRM restrictions. Free of the limitations that currently restrict music playback to Apple products, the new plan will let consumers choose from three price levels instead of the 99-cent song model the store implemented on day one.

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For Sony Music, Warner Music Group and Universal Music Group, winning this long-fought battle to price music at different points in iTunes meant caving on the notion that digital music must be “protected” — a quixotic proposition in the age of torrents, P2P and sneakernet file sharing — and comes after the RIAA sheathed its litigation sword against individuals. In return, the labels get access to a massive and hungry consumer base for their catalogs (Apple and the fourth major label, EMI, came to terms earlier).

In addition, a DRM-free iTunes means the labels get to test their theory that some people will buy more music at 69 cents and pay $1.29 for some tunes. According to Apple, more songs will be offered at the low price point than at the high one.

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This DRM-free iTunes news could mark the last time we see digital rights management applied to single-song downloads. For opponents of DRM’s restrictions, this deal was a long time coming.

PS – Just to pick up on that mention of the RIAA “sheathing it’s litigation sword against individuals,” read the article in full for details, but here’s a snippit to give you an idea of just how good this apparently good news is (hint= the RIAA still criminalizes sharing.. surprised?):

Instead, RIAA agents will seek out those sharing music without permission (usually by conducting its own P2P searches), and will e-mail the music sharer’s ISP alerting them to that activity. The ISP will then either forward the RIAA’s e-mail or send the subscriber a warning e-mail telling them that music sharing is not permitted.

If they continue to share, the subscriber will receive one or two additional warnings, after which the ISP will slow their connection. If the allegedly infringing activity persists, the subscriber may find their internet connection stops working altogether.