[iamdone]

Here's the article.

http://appleinsider.com/article.php?id=1834

This would be pretty cool if it happens. I'm not a big fan of DRM but it would be so convenient to buy from home and still have lossless files. With my cable modem, it shouldn't take too long to download.

 

[Solitary1]

The only thing I've bought from ITMS has been TV shows and music videos because I could not see myself paying for 128k encoded music (AAC or MP3). I think this would bring in significant profit for Apple, addressing the audiophile crowd that already gives the iPod its props. There are others out there (Music Giants comes to mind) that are selling lossless music downloads, and I'm sure it'll be a niche market.

 

[Ingo]

It is possible to burn DRM ALAC files to a CD, right? It seems like being able to lose the DRM that easily would not be in apple's best interest.

 

[iamdone]

Here's Macrumors post. You can read the comments.

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=211176

 

[Revliskciuq]

I don't see this being successful, at least not among audio files. Apple currently charges $0.99/track for lossy audio, it stands to reason that a file many times the size will be more expensive to store and distribute; it wouldn't surprise me to see these lossless files going for $2.99-$3.99 per track.

At that price it's not attractive to the regular iTunes user, their systems can't resolve the differences between lossy and lossless compression, therefore this feature is almost useless among their existing client base. Secondly, audiophiles who spend thousands of dollars on systems are typically going to want more than one track, and if they are willing to put down $500 for a pair of headphones they are likely willing to put down $15 for a CD containing ALL of the music, free of DRM.

What audiophile is going to want to pay a premium for a track locked down in a format he can't transcode, manipulate, etc... to me the value just seems really low. I have no problem spending money, but I'd rather spend slightly more to get a whole lot more ie, buying the CD and ripping it myself.

Not to mention that if your hard drive should suddenly decide to take a dump you can't exactly re-rip your CDs if you don't have them to begin with.

 

[JaGWiRE]

Unless it stays at 99 cents or cheaper, and can be transfered to another lossless format without having to burn to a cd, I am not interested. I'm not going to waste media and go into an extra step just to get a lossless file that I can rip from a cd I can buy for probably less then $5 on a forum like this one, and if their is one specific cd I really need, I can just go and buy it.

 

[kaidomac]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Revliskciuq I don't see this being successful, at least not among audio files. Apple currently charges $0.99/track for lossy audio, it stands to reason that a file many times the size will be more expensive to store and distribute; it wouldn't surprise me to see these lossless files going for $2.99-$3.99 per track. At that price it's not attractive to the regular iTunes user, their systems can't resolve the differences between lossy and lossless compression, therefore this feature is almost useless among their existing client base. Secondly, audiophiles who spend thousands of dollars on systems are typically going to want more than one track, and if they are willing to put down $500 for a pair of headphones they are likely willing to put down $15 for a CD containing ALL of the music, free of DRM. What audiophile is going to want to pay a premium for a track locked down in a format he can't transcode, manipulate, etc... to me the value just seems really low. I have no problem spending money, but I'd rather spend slightly more to get a whole lot more ie, buying the CD and ripping it myself. Not to mention that if your hard drive should suddenly decide to take a dump you can't exactly re-rip your CDs if you don't have them to begin with.

I would go for $1.29 a track for lossless, anything more would be dumb. The iTMS is one of my primary means of getting music and now that I'm adding a Gilmore Lite along with my HD-650's I'm not exactly inclined to do so anymore

 

[kaidomac]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ingo It is possible to burn DRM ALAC files to a CD, right? It seems like being able to lose the DRM that easily would not be in apple's best interest.

Currently yes, you can burn their protected AAC files to a CD. Funnily enough Apple allows you to rip CDs back to MP3 (or AAC or lossless), so a CD-RW is all you need to "hack" their format consistantly. You make a good point here - it'd be easy to remove the DRM and have a CD-quality track. Too much work though

 

[Solitary1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Revliskciuq I don't see this being successful, at least not among audio files. Apple currently charges $0.99/track for lossy audio, it stands to reason that a file many times the size will be more expensive to store and distribute; it wouldn't surprise me to see these lossless files going for $2.99-$3.99 per track. At that price it's not attractive to the regular iTunes user, their systems can't resolve the differences between lossy and lossless compression, therefore this feature is almost useless among their existing client base. Secondly, audiophiles who spend thousands of dollars on systems are typically going to want more than one track, and if they are willing to put down $500 for a pair of headphones they are likely willing to put down $15 for a CD containing ALL of the music, free of DRM. What audiophile is going to want to pay a premium for a track locked down in a format he can't transcode, manipulate, etc... to me the value just seems really low. I have no problem spending money, but I'd rather spend slightly more to get a whole lot more ie, buying the CD and ripping it myself. Not to mention that if your hard drive should suddenly decide to take a dump you can't exactly re-rip your CDs if you don't have them to begin with.

Kind of goes without saying that they won't try to sell tracks at $3 a pop. NO ONE is going to pay that, they'll just buy the CD. All speculation now, let's wait and see.

 

[bahamaman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by iamdone This would be pretty cool if it happens.

I think it would be terrific, particularly with respect to those times I am looking for just a single cut off an album and thus cannot justify buying the entire CD.

 

[zChan]

I really doubt major record labels will release lossless music which can be easily burnt to a CD.

 

[Solitary1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by zChan I really doubt major record labels will release lossless music which can be easily burnt to a CD.

They already have. See my message above.