[Jenn]

Apple Unveils Higher Quality DRM-Free Music on the iTunes Store
DRM-Free Songs from EMI Available on iTunes for $1.29 in May
CUPERTINO, California‹April 2, 2007‹Apple® today announced that EMI
Music¹s entire digital catalog of music will be available for purchase
DRM-free (without digital rights management) from the iTunes® Store
(www.itunes.com) worldwide in May. DRM-free tracks from EMI will be
offered at higher quality 256 kbps AAC encoding, resulting in audio
quality indistinguishable from the original recording, for just $1.29
per song. In addition, iTunes customers will be able to easily upgrade
their entire library of all previously purchased EMI content to the
higher quality DRM-free versions for just 30 cents a song. iTunes will
continue to offer its entire catalog, currently over five million songs,
in the same versions as today‹128 kbps AAC encoding with DRM‹at the same
price of 99 cents per song, alongside DRM-free higher quality versions
when available.
³We are going to give iTunes customers a choice‹the current versions of
our songs for the same 99 cent price, or new DRM-free versions of the
same songs with even higher audio quality and the security of
interoperability for just 30 cents more,² said Steve Jobs, Apple¹s CEO.
³We think our customers are going to love this, and we expect to offer
more than half of the songs on iTunes in DRM-free versions by the end of
this year.²
³EMI and iTunes are once again teaming up to move the digital music
industry forward by giving music fans higher quality audio that is
virtually indistinguishable from the original recordings, with no usage
restrictions on the music they love from their favorite artists,² said
Eric Nicoli, CEO of EMI Group.
With DRM-free music from the EMI catalog, iTunes customers will have the
ability to download tracks from their favorite EMI artists without any
usage restrictions that limit the types of devices or number of
computers that purchased songs can be played on. DRM-free songs
purchased from the iTunes Store will be encoded in AAC at 256 kbps,
twice the current bit rate of 128 kbps, and will play on all iPods, Mac®
or Windows computers, Apple TVs and soon iPhones, as well as many other
digital music players.
iTunes will also offer customers a simple, one-click option to easily
upgrade their entire library of all previously purchased EMI content to
the higher quality DRM-free format for 30 cents a song. All EMI music
videos will also be available in DRM-free format with no change in price.

[Harry Lavo]

"Jenn" wrote in message
...
Apple Unveils Higher Quality DRM-Free Music on the iTunes Store
DRM-Free Songs from EMI Available on iTunes for $1.29 in May
CUPERTINO, California Music¹s entire digital catalog of music will be
available for purchase
DRM-free (without digital rights management) from the iTunes® Store
(www.itunes.com) worldwide in May. DRM-free tracks from EMI will be
offered at higher quality 256 kbps AAC encoding, resulting in audio
quality indistinguishable from the original recording, for just $1.29
per song. In addition, iTunes customers will be able to easily upgrade
their entire library of all previously purchased EMI content to the
higher quality DRM-free versions for just 30 cents a song. iTunes will
continue to offer its entire catalog, currently over five million songs,
in the same versions as today128 kbps AAC encoding with DRM price of 99
cents per song, alongside DRM-free higher quality versions
when available.
³We are going to give iTunes customers a choice our songs for the same
99 cent price, or new DRM-free versions of the
same songs with even higher audio quality and the security of
interoperability for just 30 cents more,² said Steve Jobs, Apple¹s CEO.
³We think our customers are going to love this, and we expect to offer
more than half of the songs on iTunes in DRM-free versions by the end of
this year.²
³EMI and iTunes are once again teaming up to move the digital music
industry forward by giving music fans higher quality audio that is
virtually indistinguishable from the original recordings, with no usage
restrictions on the music they love from their favorite artists,² said
Eric Nicoli, CEO of EMI Group.
With DRM-free music from the EMI catalog, iTunes customers will have the
ability to download tracks from their favorite EMI artists without any
usage restrictions that limit the types of devices or number of
computers that purchased songs can be played on. DRM-free songs
purchased from the iTunes Store will be encoded in AAC at 256 kbps,
twice the current bit rate of 128 kbps, and will play on all iPods, Mac®
or Windows computers, Apple TVs and soon iPhones, as well as many other
digital music players.
iTunes will also offer customers a simple, one-click option to easily
upgrade their entire library of all previously purchased EMI content to
the higher quality DRM-free format for 30 cents a song. All EMI music
videos will also be available in DRM-free format with no change in price.

Well, I guess it is a step in the right direction. But it gets us back only
to a point just short of "CD Quality". Now how about a "super-premium" SACD
or DVD-A multi-channel" release?

[Arny Krueger]

"Harry Lavo" wrote in message

"Jenn" wrote in
message
...
Apple Unveils Higher Quality DRM-Free Music on the
iTunes Store DRM-Free Songs from EMI Available on iTunes for $1.29 in
May CUPERTINO, California Music¹s entire digital catalog
of music will be available for purchase
DRM-free (without digital rights management) from the
iTunes® Store (www.itunes.com) worldwide in May.
DRM-free tracks from EMI will be offered at higher
quality 256 kbps AAC encoding, resulting in audio
quality indistinguishable from the original recording,
for just $1.29 per song. In addition, iTunes customers will be able to
easily upgrade their entire library of all previously
purchased EMI content to the higher quality DRM-free
versions for just 30 cents a song. iTunes will continue
to offer its entire catalog, currently over five million
songs, in the same versions as today128 kbps AAC
encoding with DRM price of 99 cents per song,
alongside DRM-free higher quality versions when available.
³We are going to give iTunes customers a choice our
songs for the same 99 cent price, or new DRM-free
versions of the same songs with even higher audio quality and the
security of interoperability for just 30 cents more,²
said Steve Jobs, Apple¹s CEO. ³We think our customers
are going to love this, and we expect to offer more than
half of the songs on iTunes in DRM-free versions by the
end of this year.² ³EMI and iTunes are once again teaming up to move the
digital music industry forward by giving music fans
higher quality audio that is virtually indistinguishable
from the original recordings, with no usage restrictions
on the music they love from their favorite artists,²
said Eric Nicoli, CEO of EMI Group. With DRM-free music from the EMI
catalog, iTunes
customers will have the ability to download tracks from
their favorite EMI artists without any usage
restrictions that limit the types of devices or number
of computers that purchased songs can be played on.
DRM-free songs purchased from the iTunes Store will be encoded in AAC
at 256 kbps, twice the current bit rate of 128 kbps, and will play on
all iPods, Mac® or Windows computers, Apple TVs and soon
iPhones, as well as many other digital music players.
iTunes will also offer customers a simple, one-click
option to easily upgrade their entire library of all
previously purchased EMI content to the higher quality
DRM-free format for 30 cents a song. All EMI music
videos will also be available in DRM-free format with no
change in price.

Well, I guess it is a step in the right direction. But
it gets us back only to a point just short of "CD
Quality". Now how about a "super-premium" SACD or DVD-A
multi-channel" release?

Yeah, SACD and DVD-A provide such impressive-looking specifications. Just
what Harry needs to enjoy music - impressive specifications.

[TT]

"Arny Krueger" wrote in message
. ..

Well, I guess it is a step in the right direction. But
it gets us back only to a point just short of "CD
Quality". Now how about a "super-premium" SACD or DVD-A
multi-channel" release?

Yeah, SACD and DVD-A provide such impressive-looking
specifications. Just what Harry needs to enjoy music -
impressive specifications.
How about saying distortion and artefact free, uncompressed,
analog sounding, multichannel music that is superior to CD?

Regards TT

PS Noted I gave you what you asked for and you have not
commented on my post Spectral Analyses 192/24 that has
been up for over a month!

[Arny Krueger]

"TT" wrote in message

"Arny Krueger" wrote in message
. ..

Well, I guess it is a step in the right direction. But
it gets us back only to a point just short of "CD
Quality". Now how about a "super-premium" SACD or DVD-A
multi-channel" release?

Yeah, SACD and DVD-A provide such impressive-looking
specifications. Just what Harry needs to enjoy music -
impressive specifications.

How about saying distortion and artifact free,

That would be any digital format.

uncompressed,

That's easy, just don't compress it!

analog sounding,

Sounding like any extant practical analog record/playback technology would
be a gigantic step backwards for digital.

multichannel music

44/16 can do that.

that is superior to CD?

How can you improve on something that is already sonically transparent?

PS Noted I gave you what you asked for and you have not
commented on my post Spectral Analyses 192/24 that has
been up for over a month!

Your spectral analysis shows some odd, unnatural artefacts 20 KHz. The
recording is horribly flawed, technically speaking. The only thing that
makes it listenable is the fact that the artefacts are 20 KHz where they
can't be heard, anyway.

[TT]

"Arny Krueger" wrote in message
. ..
"TT" wrote in message

"Arny Krueger" wrote in message
. ..

Well, I guess it is a step in the right direction. But
it gets us back only to a point just short of "CD
Quality". Now how about a "super-premium" SACD or
DVD-A
multi-channel" release?

Yeah, SACD and DVD-A provide such impressive-looking
specifications. Just what Harry needs to enjoy music -
impressive specifications.

How about saying distortion and artifact free,

That would be any digital format.

So MP3 @ 128kbs is perfect?


uncompressed,

That's easy, just don't compress it!

Sorry, my error here, I meant to say "lossless". Being and
old timer I still associate "compression" with "lossy"
formats


analog sounding,

Sounding like any extant practical analog record/playback
technology would be a gigantic step backwards for digital.

Only at lower bitrates.

multichannel music

44/16 can do that.

Not on Red Book CD!


that is superior to CD?

How can you improve on something that is already sonically
transparent?

see above


PS Noted I gave you what you asked for and you have not
commented on my post Spectral Analyses 192/24 that
has
been up for over a month!

Your spectral analysis shows some odd, unnatural artefacts
20 KHz. The recording is horribly flawed, technically
speaking. The only thing that makes it listenable is the
fact that the artefacts are 20 KHz where they can't be
heard, anyway.
I never said it was a perfect recording only an example of a
readily available commercial recording that has a lot of
sound energy 25kHz.

IMHO it sounds very pleasant (except some vocals are too
closely miked) and down mixing it to 44.1/16 makes it sound
"harsh". BTW I haven't ABXed it as I cannot get your
program to work at 192/24 or, as I have previously said,
managed a DBT at the two different sample rates other than
crude source swapping.

Regards TT

[Harry Lavo]

"Arny Krueger" wrote in message
. ..
"Harry Lavo" wrote in message

"Jenn" wrote in
message
...
Apple Unveils Higher Quality DRM-Free Music on the
iTunes Store DRM-Free Songs from EMI Available on iTunes for $1.29 in
May CUPERTINO, California Music¹s entire digital catalog
of music will be available for purchase
DRM-free (without digital rights management) from the
iTunes® Store (www.itunes.com) worldwide in May.
DRM-free tracks from EMI will be offered at higher
quality 256 kbps AAC encoding, resulting in audio
quality indistinguishable from the original recording,
for just $1.29 per song. In addition, iTunes customers will be able to
easily upgrade their entire library of all previously
purchased EMI content to the higher quality DRM-free
versions for just 30 cents a song. iTunes will continue
to offer its entire catalog, currently over five million
songs, in the same versions as today128 kbps AAC
encoding with DRM price of 99 cents per song,
alongside DRM-free higher quality versions when available.
³We are going to give iTunes customers a choice our
songs for the same 99 cent price, or new DRM-free
versions of the same songs with even higher audio quality and the
security of interoperability for just 30 cents more,²
said Steve Jobs, Apple¹s CEO. ³We think our customers
are going to love this, and we expect to offer more than
half of the songs on iTunes in DRM-free versions by the
end of this year.² ³EMI and iTunes are once again teaming up to move the
digital music industry forward by giving music fans
higher quality audio that is virtually indistinguishable
from the original recordings, with no usage restrictions
on the music they love from their favorite artists,²
said Eric Nicoli, CEO of EMI Group. With DRM-free music from the EMI
catalog, iTunes
customers will have the ability to download tracks from
their favorite EMI artists without any usage
restrictions that limit the types of devices or number
of computers that purchased songs can be played on.
DRM-free songs purchased from the iTunes Store will be encoded in AAC
at 256 kbps, twice the current bit rate of 128 kbps, and will play on
all iPods, Mac® or Windows computers, Apple TVs and soon
iPhones, as well as many other digital music players.
iTunes will also offer customers a simple, one-click
option to easily upgrade their entire library of all
previously purchased EMI content to the higher quality
DRM-free format for 30 cents a song. All EMI music
videos will also be available in DRM-free format with no
change in price.

Well, I guess it is a step in the right direction. But
it gets us back only to a point just short of "CD
Quality". Now how about a "super-premium" SACD or DVD-A
multi-channel" release?

Yeah, SACD and DVD-A provide such impressive-looking specifications. Just
what Harry needs to enjoy music - impressive specifications.

Thanks for your gratuitous nonsense, Arny. Hope it makes you happy.

[dizzy]

Signal wrote:

99c is too much for a single track download already IMO, considering
the lower overheads involved vs a hard copy, the compromised quality,
lack of liner notes/artwork.

Not if, like so many CD's, there's only a couple really good songs
with having...

[dizzy]

Signal wrote:

dizzy wrote:

Signal wrote:

99c is too much for a single track download already IMO, considering
the lower overheads involved vs a hard copy, the compromised quality,
lack of liner notes/artwork.

Not if, like so many CD's, there's only a couple really good songs
with having...

I suppose, but how keen are you on paying extortionate prices? My
point is with significantly lower overheads, downloads should cost
less. At $1.30 per track, majors are laughing all the way to the bank.

I smoke cigars that cost $10. $1.30 for a really good song is a
bargain, IMO.

The increased quality plus the lack of DRM makes me MUCH more likely
to download music. I was kind of ticked-off when I first tried
itunes, and quickly learned that I could not play the song that I just
payed-for on another PC (withoug jumping through hoops). Plus,
128kb/s is quite lame.

I think this is a great step foward.

[Bill Riel]

In article ,
lid says...


The increased quality plus the lack of DRM makes me MUCH more likely
to download music.

I think the lack of DRM is the really big news here - I'm hoping it
forces other labels to follow suit.

And like you, I'm much more enthusiastic about purchasing downloadable
music in this format than the current offerings.

--
Bill