p2pnet - rss feed: Apple cuts DRM-free iTunes to $1
p2pnet news | Music:- Apple’s efforts to stick it to its customers by charging way over the odds for its DRM-free downloads seem to have met with about as much success as its similar attempt to initially charge at least $200 more than its iPhone was worth.
In the former instance, Apple is/was demanding $1.30 for downloads unencumbered by DRM (Digital Restrictions Management) consumer control, attempting to justify the extra by saying the downloads are of a better quality than the DRM-loaded $1 versions; and in the latter, shortly after launching the iPhone, Apple knocked a massive $200 off the high end model and discontinued the lower end version altogether.
Now, all iTunes will cost a dollar, DRM-free or not, says Ars Technica.
“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,” says the post.
Amazon is selling mp3 downloads at 90 cents and $1 each, “with most of them going out at the cheaper rate - a dime less expensive than iTunes and lesser sites, in other words,” p2pnet posted recently.
And the next day, “Amazon DRM-free downloads, launched yesterday, apparently aren’t quite as DRM-free as the company promises”.
Or put another way, Enter Waternarks …….
As TUAW (The Unofficial Apple Weblog) observed, although the hardcore DRM (Digital Restrictions Management) consumer control software is gone from iTunes, Apple still sneakily has your account information, that’s to say your full name and account email, hidden in the tracks.
Also See:
demanding $1.30 - iTunes DRM-free Day today?, May 30, 2007
massive $200 - Is iPhone price cut a mistake?, September 6, 2007
Ars Technica - iTunes Plus DRM-free tracks expanding, dropping to 99 cents, October 15, 2007
p2pnet - Amazon MP3 downloads, September 25, 2007
next day - Amazon DRM-free MP3s with DRM, September 26, 2007
hidden in the tracks - User data in iTunes DRM-free tracks, June 1, 2007
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