[Infowarrior] - Apple Offers Songs Without Copy Protection on ITunes

[Richard Forno]

But does "without copy protection" mean "not watermarked with the  
purchaser's identity" as well?

-rf


Apple Offers Songs Without Copy Protection on ITunes (Update1)

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aHgsHF0mOTOY&refer=home

By Connie Gugliemo

Jan. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Apple Inc. will offer all music sold through its  
iTunes music store without copy protection and will introduce variable  
pricing for tracks.

Songs will cost 69 cents, 99 cents and $1.29 starting in April, with  
most albums priced at $9.99, Apple marketing head Phil Schiller said  
today at the Macworld conference in San Francisco. He spoke in place  
of Steve Jobs, who said yesterday that he is undergoing treatment for  
a “hormone imbalance,” which led to him losing weight last year.

About 8 million songs will be offered without copy- protection  
software as part of the iTunes Plus service starting today, Apple  
said. The other 2 million songs in its catalog will be available  
without such software by the end of March. Universal Music Group, Sony  
BMG and Warner Music Group will offer songs without copy-protection  
software. EMI Group started offering such tracks on iTunes in 2007.

ITunes, introduced in 2001, has benefited from the popularity of  
Apple’s dominant iPod music player. The service is now the biggest  
source of music in the U.S., ahead of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Best  
Buy Inc., according to NPD Group in Port Washington, New York.

Apple fell $1.26 to $93.32 at 2 p.m. New York time in Nasdaq Stock  
Market trading. The shares dropped 57 percent in 2008.

To contact the reporter on this story: Connie Guglielmo in San  
Francisco at cguglielmo1 at bloomberg.net
Last Updated: January 6, 2009 14:01 EST