iTunes removing DRM… for a fee
By admin • Jan 8th, 2009 • Category: iPod
For me, one of the most interesting announcements at Macworld 2009 is that Apple will offer DRM-free music on iTunes, while simultaneously establishing three tiers of music prices.
Record companies will be able to choose whether they want their songs to cost $0.69, $0.99, or $1.29.
Currently about 8 million DRM-free songs are available, with another 2 million being added by April.
They are also offering users the ability to upgrade their iTunes libraries (the songs they already purchas– I mean, the songs they are currently renting) to DRM-free copies. However, this will cost them $0.30 per song. Talk about rent-to-own.
All you have to do is click a button in iTunes and your songs are converted and you are billed. The songs will still be in AAC format.
Let’s see…
I don’t buy music from iTunes because I’m a member of the Anti-DRM crusade, but if I were to convert all of my DRM-free music that I currently store in iTunes to put on my iPhone, what would the damage be?
(Mind you, I really don’t own that much music, comparatively speaking. I know people with thousands of songs.)
Original “purchase”:
534 songs x $0.99 = $528.66
Upgrade:
534 x $0.30 = $160.20
Total cost of my music library: $688.86
Now — this is going to be a bad estimation — but lets say I had bought all of the music on CDs. Let’s average 12 songs per CD at $13 an album (most of the CDs I’ve bought recently have been cheaper than that, too).
Total cost of my CD music library: $578.50
And finally, if I would have bought all of my music DRM-free from Amazon as mp3s, at $0.99 per song:
Total cost of my Amazon music library: 534 x $0.99 = $533.01
Comparing those numbers, it’s all a matter of what services and abilities you value.
If you’re buying from iTunes, you’re paying for the convenience and customization. That’s fair enough. And there are plenty of debates out there about which file type is better.
But I don’t know. Psychologically, I would be really PO’d if I had to pay hundreds of dollars for something I already paid hundreds of dollars for.
Of course, the other argument here is that you could just burn everything to CDs and rip them back to your computer to get rid of the DRM. But that takes time and, in some cases, a LOT of CDs.
So, again, I’m sure plenty of people would be happy to pay for the convenience of a one-touch conversion.
But I don’t know, even though it’s not that bad, it still rubs me the wrong way.
By the way, Apple shares fell 1.7% yesterday… most likely a combination of Macworld/Jobs news….
Has anyone already converted? What did it cost you?
[Thanks: http://blogs.fayobserver.com]
