DRM dealt major blow

Another day, another major blow to DRM. EMI and Apple just announced a deal to distribute the label's music via the iTunes web site without DRM. This is a significant move because the major labels had expressed a strong commitment to DRM (although there had been some signs of fraying recently -- see the SNOCAP posting below). There are several basic technological questions that have not been answered, but it appears a sea change is in the works on the DRM front.

iTunes will begin selling the DRM free tracks in May and other music download sites will follow thereafter. The price for the tracks will be $1.29, instead of the usual $.99. The sound you hear may be the other majors scrambling to follow.