iTunes Plus DRM-free tracks expanding, dropping to 99 cents
It's been a while since Apple launched iTunes Plus, its version of DRM-free tracks sold through the iTunes Store. Only EMI tracks were sold as 256kbps, DRM-free AAC files through the iTunes Store in May, and in June …
Context & Ripple Effects
When Apple launched iTunes Plus in May 2007, DRM-free music was a niche experiment: only EMI's catalog, encoded as 256kbps AAC, and sold at a premium over standard iTunes tracks — a combination that drew public anger over the DRM-free launch pricing by June. The premium was effectively a tax on wanting an unprotected file.
With this expansion, confirmed on October 15, 2007, the experiment stops being an EMI exclusive and stops being priced as one: DRM-free tracks move to the same 99-cent tier as protected ones, which removes the main consumer grievance while widening the catalog well beyond a single label.
First-order effects
- Buyers no longer pay extra for the absence of DRM — unprotected 256kbps AAC files now cost the standard 99 cents, directly undercutting the June complaint that freedom carried a surcharge.
- EMI loses its exclusivity as the sole DRM-free supplier in the iTunes Store, trading a differentiator for broader label participation in the program.
Second-order effects
- Other major labels face a choice between joining iTunes Plus and watching their protected catalogs sit next to identically priced open files, where DRM reads as a defect rather than a feature.
- Rival download stores built on copy protection lose the price umbrella: with DRM-free at parity pricing, they can no longer position openness as a premium product.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds, DRM shifts from a revenue lever to a liability in digital music retail, and competition among stores reverts to catalog, price, and player integration rather than lock-in — with label willingness to license unprotected files setting the pace.
The trend: Digital music retail is moving from copy-protected files sold at a premium to open-format files at standard prices, with each label's participation deciding how fast the transition runs.