The Last Macworld and the New iTMS: New Pricing, New Delivery Method, and the Death of DRM
by Eric March on January 6, 2009 at 8:40 pm 
It’s finally happening. For real this time, not just one of the Big Four breaking out from the pack like EMI did a couple of years back. This time it’s happening all over: DRM is dying.
You heard me. Digital Rights Management, that loathesome, justly maligned technology designed to inconvenience music lovers the world over in favour of trying (and ultimately failing spectacularly) to make sure the big music companies could fill their bathroom cabinets with toilet paper rolls made of crisp Franklins, is suffering from a wracking cough, and there’s blood in its sputum. (Grotesque, I know, but if I’m going to anthropomorphize the concept of DRM, I’m going to make killing its character off pretty graphic. You know you secretly — or not-so-secretly — want to see that.)
At the Macworld keynote today, Phil Schiller’s “one more thing” was all about the iTunes Music Store, and it may well mark one of the most important milestones in digital music delivery.
To start with, a new pricing structure has been unveiled. Gone are the days of $0.99 tunes across the board. The music companies wanted more flexibility, and now they’re going to get it. There are now two tiers of pricing: $0.69 tunes, and $1.29 tunes, which the companies will set at their discretion. It’s probably a very safe bet to assume that, had they their own way, they’d be making everything $1.29 across the board — but I think even they recognize that this isn’t the most ideal approach because everyone would start screaming and many would end up turning to P2P services to just pirate their music. Thus, they’ve introduced the $0.69 tier as a means to satisfy said screaming masses. What is also a pretty sure bet is that all new and popular music will almost certainly hit the $1.29 price point.
But the most startling announcement? As of today, 8 of the 10 million songs on the iTunes Music Store will be available DRM free. That’s right. No DRM. At all. None. Nada. Bupkis. Big fat-ass goose egg. By the end of this quarter, the remaining 2 million songs will be completely DRM free, effectively eliminating the entire concept of DRM from the face of iTMS.
To sum it up: FAIRPLAY. IS. DEAD.
It’s not pining! It’s passed on! FairPlay is no more! It has ceased to be! It’s expired and got to meet its maker! It’s a stiff! Bereft of life, it rests in peace! Its digital processes are now history! It’s off the twig! It’s kicked the bucket! It’s shuffled off its mortal coil, run down the curtain and joined the bleedin’ choir invisible! THIS IS AN EX-TECHNOLOGY!
By the end of March, anything you buy off of iTMS will be completely DRM-free — and even right now 80% of it is completely and totally portable to any medium you want. Bought DRMed tunes already? They can still be upgraded to DRM-free for the usual stipend of $0.30 per song. (I know, it sucks, but whaddya gonna do?) All of the Big Four are now in on this, not just EMI, who were responsible for the majority of iTunes Plus content on iTMS, in addition to some indies.
I knew this day would come; when EMI bravely led the charge, I knew their example would ultimately prove that DRM-free works, and it looks like common sense is finally, a long last, prevailing. Perhpas there’s some life left in those old dinosaurs after all. It’s only a matter of time now before the PlaysForSure, and the rest of them crumble — at least where audio formats are concerned. (3-Play on the Zune will still probably remain to prevent rampant wireless sharing among Zune users — but then I don’t think there’s more than one Zune user per zip code, is there?) Don’t hold your breath for DRM on DVDs/BRDs disappearing anytime soon. The MPAA have even bigger stiffies for the tech than the music industry ever did. Also, FairPlay will also live on protecting movies, TV shows and apps, so I guess it’s not really dead, but it’s dead where it caused the most grief.
So what could possible cap that off? How about finally allowing tunes to be purchased and downloaded to your iPhone over 3G? Yup. On-the-go buying and downloading is officially a go, so now you can enjoy all of that DRM-free content anywhere. Icing on one of the most delectible cakes I’ve seen in a long while.
So there you have it. MacWorld delivered this year, and Apple have finally opened the floodgates for totally DRM-free music. Just. Awesome.
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Posted in Apple Event, Breaking News, iTunes Related
January 6th, 2009 at 10:12 pm
brilliant graphic. i’m sure the article is just as good, I just love that picture. Suck it DRM.
January 7th, 2009 at 10:58 am
I hate to burst your bubble, but there will still be plenty of stuff available on the iTMS which will have Fairplay DRM: including Movies, TV Shows, and iPhone/iPod touch Apps. Yes, you very briefly mention this near the end of your article, but after declaring Fairplay dead, and stating that “By the end of March, anything you buy off of iTMS will be completely DRM-free ” – both flatly false statements…
But yes, removal of DRM from all the music (and, presumably, music videos) is a great move on the *labels* part (people have always, and still, attribute the DRM unfairly to Apple, it’s the labels that wanted it)…
January 7th, 2009 at 11:12 am
Not to pick nits, but iTMS = iTunes Music Store — or at least that’s what it traditionally meant. (Maybe some are using the “M” for “Media” these days, I dunno, but it’s always meant “music” to me, thus the assertion that everything off of iTMS will be DRM-free.)
I know it was always the label’s fault — Steve has himself long said that he would prefer DRM-free music, but the industry tied his hands. He smothered the music in DRM or he didn’t get any to sell. It’s interesting how the shoe slowly migrated to the other foot as iTMS became not only the #1 digital music distribution method, but the #1 method of music distribution in any any format, thus giving Apple the power to turn back to the industry and talk them out of the whole DRM nonsense. (Not that I’m crediting Apple wholesale for the death of DRM, but you can bet their market-leading position had significant influence in pushing it over the cliff.)