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Posts Tagged ‘DRM’

DRM-Free Music in Canadian iTunes

January 17th, 2009

Does the Canadian iTunes store carry DRM-free music?
iTunes Canada carries songs free of DRM?

After Googling this question a couple times, I thought I would make it easier to find the answer. The answer is yes, but not all songs. You can tell by the words “iTunes Plus” above the buy now button.

I found it particularly interesting that there was a button on the iTunes store homepage prompting me to “upgrade” to iTunes Plus. When I clicked it I was given the generous opportunity to buy the tracks AGAIN for a seemingly random price. For instance, I could upgrade the 12 tracks on A Perfect Circle’s Mer de Noms for $3.56, the 12 tracks on Audioslave’s Out of Exile for $3.00, and the 13 tracks on Matthew Good’s Avalanche for $2.40. At first, I assumed this was the new variable pricing model, but each track on each album was listed for $0.99 cents. So go figure.

I love the idea of DRM-free music. I just bought Mudvayne’s new album aptly titled The New Game, the first from iTunes since buying a vehicle with an MP3 player. However, it annoys me that I have to pay again to get the DRM taken off my existing purchases. Yes, I can strip the DRM myself, but that is a pain compared to just swiping the album via bittorrent.

Digital Music, Personal , ,

Digital Music Intermediation Part 6

February 21st, 2008

In describing the “Virtual Value Chain”, the authors of “The Move to Artist-Led Online Music Distribution: Explaining Structural Changes in the Digital Music Market”(2005) claim that “the emerging digital music market supports dramatically reduced production and distribution costs”. Since the same recording is used for both physical and digital distribution, recording costs stay the same. According to the RIAA, “there are many factors that go into the overall cost of a CD — and the plastic it’s pressed on, is among the least significant. CD manufacturing costs may be lower, but it takes more money than ever before to put out a new recording”(RIAA, 2003). Read more…

Digital Music, Media Technology, Online Advertising, Social Media , , , , , , , ,