Traduzido por Pablo Lopes Queiroz

Fonte: www.utalkmarketing.com

Rumores indicam que a gigante Google lançará um serviço similar ao iTunes, que integrará  os serviços de busca e música.

Fontes informaram que a Google já está, há algumas semanas, adquirindo direitos de conteúdo de grandes gravadoras, para o lançamento do serviço, o que afirmam tornar mais fácil encontrar, ouvir amostras e comprar músicas por meio do recurso de busca.

Usuários poderão adquirir as músicas disponibilizadas na página da Google ao clicar em um botão de “compra” e por meio de diversos sites, como a Amazon.com e a  iTunes Music Store da Apple.

Os serviços iLike e LaLa facilitarão o recurso a partir de 28 de outubro, informaram as fontes, que não obtiveram permissão para falar publicamente do serviço antes de seu lançamento.

O novo serviço envolverá as principais gravadoras de música do mundo, como a Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, Warner e a EMI.

As gravadoras esperam que, ao facilitar a busca por músicas na web, possam também alavancar o mercado digital, atualmente dominado pelo iTunes que conta com 70% das vendas de download na rede.

Steve Purdham, CEO do we7, um dos sites mais acessados do Reino Unido, com 2,5 milhões de usuários mensais, disse que a proposta deve ser analisada com cuidado.

“O acesso à música on-line parece ser o ‘hit’ do momento e os jornais sempre abordam rumores como este, sobre um serviço de música da Google”, afirma Steve.

“Enquanto esse conceito é bastante discutido, muitas pessoas ainda evitam falar sobre a grande questão: isso reforçará o mercado? Tanto o MySpace Music, quanto o Imeem e o Spotify enfrentam os problemas da realidade econômica atual, em que a escala de valores não é a questão principal, mas sim a sustentabilidade econômica.”

Steve ainda disse, “o YouTube, por exemplo, ainda aguarda pelo retorno de lucros desde sua aquisição, pela Google, em 2006. Entretanto, o site continua a se expandir de forma rápida, anunciando recentemente que conta com mais de 1 bilhão de visualizações por dia”.

“A habilidade de expandir a plataforma de vídeo, em tal escala, ao menos por agora, e sem o desenvolvimento de um modelo de renda sustentável, tira o foco das inovações necessárias para transformar a internet em um ambiente corporativo favorável às diferentes mídias.”

Steve afirmou que o “Google Music” (ou “Google Audio” / “OneBox” como vem sendo chamado) seria ótimo para os consumidores, mas alerta, “o que a atual indústria fonográfica mais necessita no momento é  uma demonstração de que a economia pode funcionar”.

“O foco deve estar no pagamento de direitos autorais aos artistas, nas transparência do modelo e em sua sustentabilidade. Uma vez que isso aconteça, então as escalas de valores e as oportunidades poderão ocorrer de forma positiva”, ele conclui.

“A we7, com um bom amparo das gravadoras, construiu um importante serviço de distribuição on-line de conteúdo e atingiu o primeiro lugar como um dos sites de música mais acessados do Reino Unido, com 2,5 milhões de usuários mensais, e nosso foco está no modelo de trabalho baseado em anúncios publicitários.”

NOTAS DO TRADUTOR:

• O evento de apresentação do serviço se chamará “Discover Music!”.
• Informações adicionais sobre as músicas (títulos, bio, artistas, CDs) serão fornecidas pelo serviço.
• O novo serviço da Google será integrado ao já conhecido serviço de busca da companhia.
• O sistema de busca de músicas será bastante similar ao padrão de busca da Google.
• O ILike foi recém adquirido pelo MySpace, portanto é provável que o novo serviço da Google envolva ambos os sites.
• Os usuários poderão fazer o stream de músicas direto do Google e por meio de seus parceiros ILike e Lala.
• Tanto o serviço ILike quanto o Lala fornecem o stream limitado de músicas.
• Por meio do Lala, usuários podem fazer o stream da música apenas uma vez, após esse processo o usuário  poderá comprar a música ou a acessar por apenas 30 segundos.
• Já no ILike, algumas músicas estão disponíveis (completas) para streaming e outras contam apenas com 30 segundos de acessibilidade.
• O MySpace Music possui os direitos totais de streaming de todo o conteúdo disponibilizado no site (por meio das principais gravadoras).

MJ Style is now available at most iTunes Music Stores (appeared 12 hours ago in countries located in ahead timezones, and should since be displayed at European and American stores).

I discovered that when searching for Cjed using the upper-right search field, the displayed page lists songs in the wrong order. The reason seems that is lists all songs from all albums for the artist, and so the numbers don’t correspond to tracks numbers (and have then more to do with the order of songs’s database records). By clicking on the artist’s name/link on the left side (Artists area), the album’s songs list is ordered fine again (the same when clicking on the album’s name).

This is here for access to the Zimbalam player (that also provides a direct link to the iTunes Music Store). On mac, the Flash version used by the plugin seems to produce some artifacts at some samples start (ok on PC), however they play fine at iTunes Music Store.

Wow! I’m actually writing my second blog post of the day! Separated only by a few minutes! Is that a pig I just saw beside the Boeing 777?! Oh my God, they’ve found Waldo! (I don’t know who Waldo is, by the way, I’m just making sarcasm-spiked references to lame cliches.)

Don’t you just love being a music journalist? This has no connection whatsoever to the first paragraph but I don’t really care. It’s better than not writing, right? RIGHT? Did those capital letters appear as if I’m shouting at you, and now I’ve forced you into submission? Do you not know what I’m talking about?

Meh.

Anyways, music journalists have the ultimate super FUN! (the multicolored font is wholly intentional. I’m being mockingly cheesy.) What they do is listen to music all day long and give five reasons why they love or hate it. And then they get to mingle with the superstars, get free invites to parties, get free backstage passes, get free concert tickets. A million freebies. And they work in Starbucks or in their minimalist wooden desk in the study of a chic Greenwich Village loft. Actually, they can work just about anywhere they want. Or rather, anywhere they can take their MacBooks. (COOL PEOPLE USE MAC WOOHOO.)

That’s precisely what I’m going to do right now! I’m not in a Starbucks or in a chic Village loft. I’m in class. Which is just about as mundane as a suburban town in Kansas. Not that I’ve been there, but it is stereotypically accepted as tragically boring. But hey, I can open my MacBook Pro here, working on my blog but looking as if I’m making notes. (If my parents see this, no, I don’t usually do this during class. Just in those that are tragically boring.)

So, without further ado, here’s my five current favorite artists/songs of the moment:

1. “LoveGame”, Lady GaGa

Who doesn’t love Lady GaGa? I couldn’t stand her a few months ago, but I’ve been forced into liking her songs after listening to them, oh, maybe 1 million times? The worst thing is that they stay in my head for extended periods afterwards. “Let’s have some fun this beat is sick. I wanna take a ride on your disco stick.” No, I’d rather not take a ride on your disco stick, but it is intensely catchy, isn’t it?

2. “Make Her Say”, Kid Cudi featuring Kanye West and Common

This song is another testament to how Lady GaGa has engulfed the lives of young people with access to MTV. This song samples the acoustic version of GaGa’s “Poker Face”, Kanye-style, with a hip hop beat. And you can’t argue that GaGa can actually sing. I think. Or maybe it’s just her melodies that surreptitiously find their way into the innermost part of your mind. And nag you until you download the freaking song.

3. “I’m a Flirt”, R. Kelly featuring T-Pain and T.I.

I love pianos. Maybe because I play it. Call me biased, but that’s true. Any horrendous song could actually sound better thanks to the piano. “I’m a Flirt” uses a piano for a hook, or something like that. I have limited knowledge of songwriting terms. Kelly’s voice is very soulful. And the track is playful. And it can still be played in clubs. One negative aspect? “So homies don’t bring your girlfriend near me cos I’m a flirt!” he sings. He should’ve addressed the parents of fourteen-year-old girls.

4. “Destiny”, Zero 7

My iTunes Music Store account actually recommended this song because I had Telepopmusik’s “Breathe” in my library. I dismissed it, at first, as a bland, weird, overlong electronica tune the first time I heard it. Then, I accidentally heard Sia Furler’s voice in the track months later. Isn’t it weird how good songs can actually go undiscovered for months until your iPod suddenly plays it? And it totally changed my perspective on the song. Love the chill out effect it gives.

5. “I Gotta Feeling”, Black Eyed Peas

“I Gotta Feeling” took multiple listens to like. I hated the 30-second preview in iTMS. However, just like GaGa’s case in the earlier part of this post, it surreptitiously finds its way into the inner parts of your mind. And does not freaking leave. Like those relatives from some other place whom you don’t really know that well, who decided to stay in your house and hog the TV all day until they’ve overstayed their welcome? At least BEP songs are more pleasant.

That’s all from me! Wow that was fluent writing. Congrats to me! Sorry.

Ok So here is my beef, My Beef begins with a factoid, a interesting piece of trivia if you will. The Simpsons Movie was released to New Zealand Cinemas on the 26th of july. I believe the DVD and Blu-ray disc came out in New Zealand the following january of 2008. Soon after something happened, “On the August 14, 2008, Australia and New Zealand became the 4th and 5th countries” - Wikipedia One of these film studios involved included 20th century Fox.
Then came the search Pictured above.

Now you would think… Or at least you would hope that because The Simpsons movie is available in the USA music store Shown below, it might just be available in the New Zealand Music store, it being a full year since not only the home video release in New Zealand of the Blu-ray disc and DVD but ALSO the itunes music store however as you can see above this is not the case.
Now I am a Blu-ray disc man myself, and I would sooner purchase the blu-ray disc then the itunes movie purchase option, however! It has come to my attention that I do not own a blu-ray disc player AND I would like to watch The Simpsons movie on my macbook pro! Sure I will probably just buy the DVD but how much more convenient would be be for me to just grab a copy off itunes which would probably be $12 – $17 NZD comparable to the USA price of $14.99 NZD or $9.99 USD of the USA store. There is no HD version on the store but it doesn’t matter because you need an apple TV to get HD content off itunes in New Zealand.

In short… Keep up with the titles New Zealand! Get the damn rights or something! I want my Simpsons movie! And whilst your at it, TV shows?! How about HD on my computer!

Apple ha lanciato la versione messicana di iTunes Music Store, dando così la possibilità anche al Messico di acquistare musica digitale online. I brani sono tutti DRM-free ma sono disponibili ad un prezzo fisso di 12 pesos (circa € 0,64), nonostante il prezzo degli album possa variare, mentre i video musicali costano intorno ai 24 pesos (circa € 1,27).

Sebbene le applicazioni per iPhone siano disponibili, al momento, alcune funzioni come film e serie TV mancano ancora e la versione mobile dello store resta non funzionante.

Dopo il ritrovamento di alcune pagine web parzialmente tradotte, si pensa che Apple starebbe lavorando anche alla versione brasiliana del suo iTunes Store e si presume che lo store possa entrare in funzione già per la fine di questo mese. Altre fonti hanno indicato inoltre che l’azienda avrebbe uffici e dipendenti già pronti ad evadere gli ordini online.

… C’est le premier constat qui vient à l’esprit à la vue de cette seule information :

Mickael Jackson était une star adulée, ses admirateurs lui rendent hommage et font sauter la banque sur le iTunes Music Store. Apple doit se frotter les mains.

On imagine dès lors le nombre de société de produits dérivés qui s’activent pour proposer aux détenteurs des droits de MJ les porte-clefs, rideaux, casseroles, poupées, briquets à son effigie. MJ réussira-t-il à détrôner le King Elvis et devenir le nouvel artiste ayant rapporté plus d’argent après son décès que durant sa vie? L’avenir nous le dira…

En tout cas, il faudra bien monétiser le trépas du king de la pop pour rembourser ses 500 millions de dollars de dettes…

Source : JdG

Nun wollen auch die Plattenindustrien der Musikpiraterie zuvor kommen. Mit einer Musikflatrate sollen die Downloader unbegrenzt Musik von Künstlern laden können, die bei Universal unter Vertrag stehen. Und das für einen geringen monatlichen Beitrag versteht sich.

In England soll das Projekt Ende des Jahres zum Leben erweckt werden. Hier haben sich Universal und der Internetanbieter Virgin Media zusammen getan. Die Kosten für die Flatrate sollen einfach über die Telefongebühren abgerechnet werden. Universal hofft darauf, dass weitere Major und einige Indie Labels mit auf den Zug aufspringen, damit das Angebot akzeptierter und umfangreicher werden kann. Auch wenn man seine Flatrate kündigt, sollen die bereits heruntergeladenen Stücke weiterhin nutzbar und auf jedem MP3 Player oder Computer abspielbar sein. Ein Preis dafür wurde allerdings noch nicht genannt.

Was für den Nutzer sehr rentabel klingt, ist für Plattformen wie den iTunes Music Store oder Musicload jetzt schon der Anfang vom Ende. Befürchtet wird, dass die Nutzer nun vielmehr die Flatrateangebote vor den teureren Einzeldownloads vorziehen werden und der Umsatz ins Bodenlose sinken könnte.

Das Angebot zu umgehen und sich eine Flat mit einem Freund oder Bekannten zu teilen wird erschwert durch verschiedene Sicherheitsmaßnahmen seitens des Anbieters. Die heruntergeladenen Songs werden markiert und sind somit aufspürbar. Wer sich dabei erwischen lässt, dem kann von Virgin die Leitung gekappt werden (frei nach dem Motto: HADOPI gibt’s nicht nur in Frankreich).

Für Deutschland ist ein entsprechendes Angebot übrigens noch nicht geplant.

Man hittar mycket bra musik som man glömt bort eller inte ens visste fanns genom olika musiktjänsters rekommendationer. Här tipsar jag om tre bra tjänster som jag själv använder dagligen.

iTunes Music Store
Jag är en trogen macanvändare sen 1995 och har sen introduktionen av svenska iTunes Music Store köpt mycket av min musik digitalt (numer inhandlas all musik digitalt). En trevlig bieffekt är att man får musikrekommendationer baserat på sina tidigare inköp och även ifall man aktiverat Genius. Allt som rekommenderas är inte bra eller relevant men det händer att man får riktigt bra tips. Så använder man iTunes som skivbutik eller musikspelare ska man definitivt slå igång Genius rekommendationerna i sina inställningar.

Här hittar du mer information om iTunes »

Spotify
Världens bästa “internetradio” är också en bra guide för att hitta ny eller okänd musik. När man t ex gjort en sökning och valt någon av artisterna i sökresultatet så hittar man förslag på liknande artister i en lista till höger om artistinformationen. Jag har klickat mig fram till en massa bra musik den vägen.

Läs mer om Spotify »

Last.fm
En intressant musiktjänst som inte bara är en internetradio och musikcommunity utan även om man vill “scrobblar” vilken musik som man lyssnar på. Det vill säga att information om vilken artist och låt man spelar sparas i last.fm-kontot. Sen kan man se statistik över vilka låtar och artister som man spelar mest. Statistiken presenteras prydligt i listor och staplar efter t ex de mest spelade artisterna denna månad.

Men det är inte själva loggningen av vad man lyssnar på som är intressant utan att man sen får rekommendationer utifrån sin musiksmak. Så desto fler låtar som man “scrobblat” desto bättre och mer pricksäkra blir rekommendationerna. Helt klart den bästa tjänsten om man vill upptäcka ny musik. Last-fm fungerar tillsammans med både iTunes och Spotify och även flera andra musikspelare.

Läs mer om Last.fm »

Det är inte alltid som Genius rekommendationer  i iTunes Music Store är så vidare pricksäkra. Men då och då händer det att man blir överraskad. Vilket jag blev för några dagar sen när jag satt och klickade mig igenom de förslagna artisterna och ramlade över skivan “Roll With You” med Eli “Paperboy” Reed & The True Loves.

Rekommendationen baserades på att jag tidigare köpt The Solutions “Will Never Be Televised”. Om det musikaliskt hyfsat stämde överens med The Solution så skulle det helt klart vara intressant.

Efter några låtars provlyssning så klickade jag på köp-knappen. Det bjuds på ett grymt sväng och Eli “Paperboy” Reed besitter en jäkligt bra soulröst. Fast han bara är 24 år så känns det som om han sjungit soul sen 60-talet. Att omslaget är snyggt och för tankarna till ett gammalt vinylkonvolut gör att inramningen känns “äkta”.

Det här är en lysande soulpärla som låter gammal men som är gnistrande ny.

Provlyssna på MySpace.

Eli “Paperboy” Reed & The True Loves -Take My Love With You (live hos Jools Holland)

by Sean Michaels @ guardian.co.uk
According to research, those who download ‘free’ music are also the industry’s largest audience for digital sales (continues@guardian.co.uk)

Tha Misses posted a new track, “I ALREADY DID THAT” on Myspace. . Check it out, she’s been there, done that, and this is her story …(it’s  free). Also check out our other artists while u there.

http://www.myspace.com/blackeyeinc

http://www.myspace.com/blackeyemusic

http://www.myspace.com/blackeyerecords

http://www.myspace.com/blackeyekamp

http://www.blackeyerecords.net

ambush444@aol.com

Database yang kami maksud disini adalah band-band indie (band yang bergerak secara low budget) dan telah menelurkan minimal satu buah album indie ataupun minor label. Keuntungan dari database yang kami siapkan ini adalah :

• Media publikasi yang to the point
• Data yang mudah diakses oleh pengguna internet yang awam internet sekalipun (tanpa perlu masuk fitur-fitur website), “buat akses jadi makin mudah “, demikian prinsip database ini.
• Blog ini sering terlacak di google dalam istilah pencarian “database musik” 

Bagi kawan-kawan yang ingin ikutan silahkan tulis data anda di bagian komentar.

From: Widi Asmoro <asmoro_w@yahoo.com>Subject: [KomunitasMusik] berbagi pengalaman To: komunitasmusik@yahoogroups.com Date: Monday, April 6, 2009, 2:43 AM

Temans,
belakangan ini banyak banget situs di Indonesia yang menawarkan download lagu secara legal, gue pengen tau pendapat loe semua.. menurut loe apakah situs yang kayak gitu patut didukung atau dibiarin aja.. secara juga yang gratisan juga banyak.. suarakan pendapat loe.. sebebas2nya. . jangan takut..
trus.. loe dah pernah nyobain donlod legal belum? entah itu di kapanlagi music store, kongkoow music, playmusic atau dimanapun? susah atau gampang? terus harganya kemahalan pa ngga? pengennya harga yg berapaan sih yg pas?

Cheers,
Widi Asmoro

(da Macitynet) iTunes domina in Italia: il 30% di chi compra musica su Internet pensa come primo negozio on line proprio a quello di Apple. La statistica, che premia la strategia di Cupertino, emerge da una ricerca svolta da Strategy Analitytics che ha scandagliato il mercato della penisola, uno dei quattro principali del Vecchio Continente.

Oltre alla percentuale di iTunes (che è quasi il doppio rispetto a quello della immediata concorrente, eBay ferma al 17%), un aspetto interessante che si può notare dal tracciamento delle preferenze, è che i fornitori di accesso su rete cellulare sono collocati appena al 7%. Potrebbe essere la prova concreta che gli sforzi fatti dagli operatori mobili per imporre i loro punti vendita su dispositivo mobile per ora non hanno prodotto effetto. Più in alto si collocano le case discografiche (16%). MTV, nonostante la forza mediatica e la popolarità del marchio si colloca solo al 12%.

Al primo posto di iTunes contribuisce, sicuramente, la popolarità di iPod che anche in Italia è di gran lunga il più venduto dei player musicali. La connessione tra il lettore di Cupertino e il suo negozio sono evidentemente molto forti.

“Come in altri mercati europei – dice a Macity Martin Olausson Director – Digital Media Strategies di Stategy Analiytics- iTunes ha una posizione dominante in Italia. I clienti della larga banda preferiscono iTunes quattro volte di più di quanto non facciano con gli operatori mobili e 10 volte di più di quanto non accada con gli operatori broadband quando si tratta di acquistare musica”.

Till alla som tvivlar så måste jag säga att AC/DC fortfarande är ett av världens bästa rockband både på skiva och live. Vilket de bevisade med råge under fredagens (20/2) spelning i Globen. Gubbarna verkade jäkligt spelsugna och såg ut att stormtrivas på scenen.

Efter en animerad kortfilmen ombord på ett tåg där en klåfingrig Angus Young  får spö av två lättklädda tjejer så brakar det igång. Plötsligt var de där. Stående framför ett gigantiskt ånglok bestyckat med rödlysande djävulshorn i fronten.

FOTO: Andreas Hjorth

De drar direkt igång med “Rock N’ Roll Train” från senaste plattan. Precis som ett ett ånglok stånkar sig rock n’ roll maskinen sakta igång. Brian Johnson rör sig likt en katt över scenen med en spattig Angus Young i hälarna. Bakom dem på varsin kant står Malcolm Young och Cliff Williams. Phil Rudd ser ut som huggen ur sten med en cigg lojt hängande i ena mungipan. Han verkar inte röra en min under hela konserten (vette fan om han ens bytte cigg). Men han levererar tunga, tighta AC/DC-trummor som bara han kan göra.

Det känns som om de inte riktigt får upp farten i början men som nummer tre fyrar de av “Back In Black”, startskottet som får lokföraren att trycka plattan i botten. Vilket drag det blir. Allas händer är uppe i luften och viftar. Det är exakt så här det ska kännas att vara på rockkonsert.

Klassiska hits som bland annat “Hell’s Bells”, “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap”, “T.N.T.”, “The Jack”, “Shot Down In Flames” och “Thunderstruck” varvades med nytt material som “Big Jack”, “Black Ice” och “War Machine”

Konsertens höjdpunkter var “Whole Lotta Rosie” (givetvis var Rosie på plats sittande grensle över loket), “Let There Be Rock”, “Back In Black” och the grande finale “For Those About To Rock” som ackompanjerades av sex stycken dundrande kanoner.

FOTO: Andreas Hjorth

Efter 110 svettiga minuter är allt över och när ljusriggen slocknat står man kvar med ett fånigt leende på läpparna och ett konsertminne som för alltid kommer att vara inetsad i hjärnan.

Som summering kan jag bara säga:
- Fy fan va bra!

Här är en Komplett setlista »

Kvällens stora besvikelse:
The Answer skulle börja spela vid 19:30 och fast vi var inne på arenan runt 20:00 tiden så missade vi dem. Tydligen hade de spelat fem låtar i tjugo minuter. Nog borde de ha kunnat fått lite mer tid på sig.

Men men, jag får trösta mig med att deras nya album “Everyday Demons” släpptes igår. Jag laddade ner den helt olyssnad från iTMS. Återkommer med en recension när den snurrat några varv i lurarna.

(Imagine I’m saying the following thing in the tone of Will Ferrell, as James Lipton.)

Dear, Site, Visitor,

My podcast is now available in the iTunes Music Store. Here’s the link:

Searching For ‘93 – Podcast

If you like sports… click, on, this, link. And listen to it. And SUB-scribe to it.

It isss ahhh DELIGHT.

Site Garble: You’ll notice an increase in audio quality starting on the most recent podcast with Anthony Jeselnik. I purchased a basic microphone because I figured that sounding like I was wandering around the streets of New Delhi might turn some people off.

Por fim, a Apple conseguiu com que todas as editoras concordassem em libertar as músicas da protecção. Isto é um enorme passo em frente na consideração dos utilizadores como apreciadores de música e não como criminosos. Sem a protecção DRM as músicas podem ser partilhadas para outros locais que não apenas os da Apple.

Mas para complementar isto, as músicas passam a ter maior qualidade de som, pelo mesmo preço. E por falar em preço: em Abril os preços vão-se dividir em 3 valores estipulados. Músicas mais recentes a $1.29, mantém-se o preço intermédio de .99 cents e passa a existir um preço mais baixo de .69 cents. A maioria dos álbuns mantém-se no valor $9.99.

Já em relação ao iPhone, passa a ser possível fazer downloads da iTunes Music Store através da rede sem custos adicionais. (não confirmei isto em relação a Portugal) Podem comprar música no iPhone em qualquer lugar, literalmente.

Apple has announced an agreement with four major music labels – Universal, Sony BMG, Warner and EMI – that will finally see digital rights management (DRM) be phased out of the iTunes music store.

iTunes, the single largest music retailer in the US, is one of the last-remaining big-name adopters of DRM – a system designed to prevent customers from sharing purchased music with others. By alleviating such restrictions, music purchased from Apple’s iTunes is now available for use on any device and not just iPods and iPhones.

However, in a possible attempt to convince record labels that DRM-free is the way forward, Apple has for the first time introduced a tiered pricing structure. In the past, each iTunes song was sold at a cost of 79p. As of today, tracks will be available at a cost of 59p, 79p, or 99p – a three-tier structure allowing record labels to presumably charge a premium for new releases. Full albums, however, will remain priced at £7.99.

Despite the promising widespread adoption of DRM-free music from the likes of Amazon MP3 and Play.com, Apple’s transition isn’t without faults. Users with existing DRM-protected music will be charged 20p per track to remove any existing restrictions. Furthermore, iTunes’ music will continue to be offered in 256kbps AAC – a format that isn’t as widely compatible as the common MP3.

Apple states that its iTunes Store will begin offering eight million of its 10 million songs in a DRM-free format as of today, and the remaining two million songs will be DRM-free by the end of March.