iTunes to Add More DRM-Free Music?

Apple has been offering DRM-Free tracks from the EMI music catalog for about a year. During this time, no other major music studio has signed on with Apple to make its music catalog available in the free format.

That may all be changing soon. Rumors suggest that up to three major music studios are in negotiations to move their catalogs from the restricted FairPlay DRM that Apple uses to the iTunes Plus format, which has no DRM system.

What may be driving the music studios is not some form of benevolence toward iTunes customers, but the realization that the iTunes marketplace has remained the leader in music sales, despite efforts by the studios to reduce iTunes’ strength in the music market. With iTunes being the number one outlet for music sales, freeing up music titles by removing the DRM system could allow music purchased from iTunes to run on any type of MP3 player, thereby opening up an even bigger market for the music studios and capitalizing on what is arguably the best buying experience for music lovers: the iTunes Store.