We Can't Work It Out...

Despite their recent agreement with EMI, Apple won't be selling The Beatles songs DRM-free.

Whatever Happened to WMA?

Microsoft's WMA format may be the big loser in the EMI-Apple DRM game. [worldwide collective shrug]

Apple-EMI-DRM info

So by now we all know that EMI is removing DRM from music it sells online through Apple. Gizmodo has posted a few interesting things about the deal:

from Jeanne Meyer, EMI's Senior VP of Corporate Communications:

• EMI approached Apple about DRM free tracks, not the other way around.
• EMI is cool with any other music store doing DRM-free tracks. This is not an iTunes exclusive.
• Those stores can put songs in any format they want. The iTunes premium price and AAC 256 kbps format are Apple's Marketing decision.
• EMI made this move based on research that showed consumers want DRM-free tracks.
• They're doing this to get a bigger stake in online music, believing that even though CDs are 90% of their sales, those figures will shrink or stay flat. They're projecting that online sales should rise to to 25% of their sales by 2010.
• The DRM-free tracks should, they believe improve sales: Even as piracy gets easier, so does the ability to play songs on any MP3 player available. (That is, once some other music store releases EMI tracks on MP3.)