Macworld UK reports that EMI is seeing an uptick in purchases from iTunes since iTunes Plus was introduced. For instance, sales of Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon [iTunes Link] have increased 350% (we all know hippies don't like DRM. I kid, I kid).
Wow. After all that fuss, it turns out that I don't own a single upgradable EMI track. My cost for bringing my library out of the dark ages and into the brave new DRM-free world? Nothing. At least that's nothing until I go out and buy a $1.29 track later this morning so I can play with the data file and see whether it will play back on my, you know, Zune. Curiously enough I do own EMI plus-worthy tracks (for example, David Bowie's "Life on Mars") but I have not been offered an option to upgrade them.So here's the challenge: Who of you out there in reader land has the biggest collection of upgradable tracks and how much is iTunes asking you to fork over to pay for those upgrades? Let us know in the comments. The winner gets bragging rights ands we will issue him or her a virtual TUAW huzzah (try saying that three times fast.)
Gallery: iTunes 7.2
If you're stuck at work and can't get away to take a peek at the new iTunes 7.2 update, we've put together this handy gallery of screen shots showing you the new 7.2 features. In iTunes 7.2, you'll find a new link to iTunes Plus in the iTunes Quick Links. Select it and iTunes will prompt you to update preferences (whether to use iTunes plus for your albums whenever possible) and your licensing agreement--that's another agreement on top of the one you had to agree to just to install the program.
TUAW's 7.2 gallery is a work in progress. Expect updates throughout the day as the new features come on line.
At TUAW we've been following the DRM-free EMI track deal for some time. We're delighted to announce that these tracks will finally available for sale over at the iTunes Store later today (Apple announced they are available, but not in my copy of iTunes at the moment).
DRM-free tracks will cost you $1.29 each rather than the normal $0.99 per track you normally pay. The extra money buys you more audio quality than the standard DRM'ed tracks (256 kbps AAC versus 128 kbs AAC). Expect larger data downloads as your audio files expand to accommodate those extra bits.
iTunes Plus requires iTunes 7.2.
Another hurdle on the way to an eventual Beatles-on-iTunes debut has been cleared. Today, ContactMusic reported that Apple Corps has settled with EMI over unpaid royalties. Apparently, this ongoing dispute has been one of the issues that has blocked online digital distribution of Beatles tracks. This settlement may allow EMI to distribute Beatles songs online in the near future. If so, you may soon see the Beatles showing up in iTunes. It's been a long and winding road and we're still not near the end.
Thanks Jeff Kirk & everyone who sent this in.
You might have read Dave's writeup of Mac OS X Hint's terminal tip for locating EMI songs using mdifind. I tried it out myself but I just couldn't get it to work. So I thought I'd give you a far easier way to accomplish the same thing. In Finder, select File -> Find (Command-F). Select "Other..." from the search attribute pop-up and when the "Select a search attribute" dialog opens, choose Copyright ("Copyright information about this item") from the list. Search for Copyright Contains EMI and let Spotlight do all the work for you.
Last week we asked if you will upgrade the EMI tracks you currently own to the new DRM-free versions when they become available in iTunes next month. Just over 2,500 of you said you would, so now the question becomes: How do I easily find my EMI music?Now that Apple has penned a deal to open up EMI songs, will Microsoft be next? The Times Online writes that Microsoft has hinted that it may follow the Apple model and sell EMI songs at Zune Marketplace without DRM. No deals are signed or announced yet, but an EMI spokesman said that negotiations with non-Apple vendors are ongoing.
As I've posted before, I think that the Apple/EMI deal is the first chink in the ship that will sink DRM use. Just like all those late and unlamented software copy protection schemes of the 1980's, DRM may soon be a historical footnote. Only time will tell, but I suspect that the iTunes DRM-free option will encourage a new wave of purchasers that have previously spurned the store due to DRM concerns.
Earlier this week, Apple and EMI broke some serious ground in the digital music industry by announcing DRM-free music across the entirety of EMI's catalog, beginning with the iTunes Store. In the conference call, Steve Jobs cited interoperability as a key reason for the move; songs downloaded from the iTunes Store can only be played on iTunes, the iPod and other Apple products, and 
Now that Apple and EMI have announced the pending availability of DRM-free music, we're wondering if you're going to upgrade your music. When the new downloads become available in iTunes this May, you'll be able to "upgrade" the EMI music you already own by spending an extra $0.30US per track. As Dave posted, EMI is offering their entire catalog of music sans DRM. This is a great move for customers. Many people commented last night that it isn't the DRM that bothers them with iTunes downloads, but rather the lower bitrate of the songs. It would seem that EMI is going to be addressing that as well.Beatles fans, it looks like the wait is still on. Engadet is live blogging the Steve Jobs/EMI press event in London today, and they've just mentioned the official press release from EMI which reads, in part:
Early today we posted about tomorrow's EMI press conference in London featuring the one and only Steve Jobs. May people thought this could mean that the Beatles music catalog would be coming to the iTunes store. While this would be interesting, the Wall Street Journal reports that EMI is doing something much more interesting than simply adding the Beatles to iTunes.
Could this be the introduction of Beatles music in the iTunes Store?
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