Apple seeking end to music copy restrictions in iTunes talks

Apple seeking end to music copy restrictions in iTunes talks (SiliconValley.com)

The end of DRM restricted files on iTunes would be a huge leap forward in the world of online music distribution. iTunes music is currently selling very well and making a huge amount of revenue for the company. Cutting down the amount of copy restrictions would only help Apple by allowing users more freedom with the files that they have paid for. Some people might say this would cut down the number of iPods being sold but I have always felt that iTunes is doing well because so many people love the iPod and not the other way around. I see the increase in sales coming from the fact that many more technically advanced users find it easier to download illegally then to use iTunes. If you go to the right places you can find a larger selection of music, at higher quality, all for free, and very often released before street date. If you increase the quality of iTunes downloads and get rid of the DRM that hurts the ability for users to copy their files, you make illegally downloading that much less enticing. Free is always going to be hard to beat, but if you make legally downloading better, more people will be willing to pay the 1.29 to get a song and not worry about legal recourse from the RIAA.

The biggest opponents to the DRM-free songs on iTunes are the record companies. These companies seem to be just delaying the inevitable fall of DRM. They are showing their reluctance to accept new technologies and the eventual rise of DRM-free music. The record labels are just showing their continued inability to change with the times and keep up with music. The labels will complain that they will lose money from this deal but I feel it is an evitable change and like NoFX said about the so called Big Five record labels in their song Dinosaurs will Die "The time has come for evolution, fuck collusion, kill the five".