Rumors: Amazon to offer DRM-free Music Store?

One way to cause the industry to re-think DRM and it's limitations is for 'everyone' to just stop purchasing music - period.
Someone like the EEF needs to step up and start a movement. It would be very easy to spread the word and get people to buy into this. I would easily make that sacrifice. Could you? ;^)

If they lose the DRM, they'd get my business

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they'd also lose content-providers. funny how that works, eh?

The big question is, if they do it, will it be Mac-compatible DRM-free tunes? I can see how they would use some craphappy WIndows-only downloader to get them.

Metryq: If you mean solutions that rely on re-encoding, that doesn't count as far as I'm concerned. Too much hassle, takes too long - not to mention, if I have to re-tag anything, then that's right out. At that point, I'd just as soon go out and buy an actual CD -- and I'd just as soon my money go to something other than giving them the impression I support the whole DRM thing anyway.

If Amazon can swing a non-DRM deal with the RIAA then so can Apple. After all, it's not Apple's decision to add DRM to their iTS content, it's the music industries.

But there are ways to remove the DRM from your iTS content. A couple are mentioned above and there is one called DRM Dumpster THAT IS COMPLETELY LEGAL.

How about DRM-free AAC files from Amazon? After all, audio-wise, AAC is superior to MP3...and WMA.

If one of the RIAA members - EMI - can sell DRM-free music in MP3 format on their website, then Amazon should be able to as well, but with a better format. Same goes for Apple.

And when will the iTunes Store (and the iPod itself) support AAC+? Give us the option of buying higher quality formats, like Apple Lossless, now that iPod storage is getting cheaper for much larger capacity drives and flash.

"I don't buy from iTunes anymore because I can't un-DRM what I buy there anymore."

Will, did your CD-R burner keel over dead? You could also use workarounds like Audio Hijack or Sound Flower.

Ooh. I'd definitely start buying there. I don't buy from iTunes anymore because I can't un-DRM what I buy there anymore.

Let me rephrase - I'd definitely buy there if they offer single-track purchases. If I have to buy the whole CD, I'd (almost always) rather buy the physical one.

In terms of "subscription" models, I did rather enjoy Rhapsody back when I had a PC. It was particularly valuable to me for *finding* new music, eg for genres they don't play on the radio. The 1-minute clip is just not enough for me to tell if I like a song, so being able to listen to whole tracks, several times, from any track in their library, before deciding which tracks to buy and keep was well worth the $10 a month for me.

If a subscription is involved then forget it. Apple DRM is the least of the evils right now. If Amazon comes to the plate with DRM free, pay once, play many then I would jump ship on iTMS in a heart beat.

Here, here! I'd jump from iTMS to Amazon or any other online vendor that offered per-track downloads with no DRM.

I still hate the idea of a subscription. I listen to music I bought in 1986. It's a personal thing, not cable TV.