Could tomorrows EMI/Apple news conference be about DRM-free music?

[blessingx]

Do we get our hopes up? [NYTimes] Bit-rates would still be too low for most here, but would still be a positive move. Course the news conference could be for other reasons.

 

[ken36]

Maybe.

 

[Davesrose]

Who cares.....I realized Apple was the anti-Christ when they decided to archive classical CDs on their DRM 128kbps format. I A/Bed an itunes track vs a standard CD track of the same album once.....no contest as to which was better SQ. Nope, it's all CD for me.....only once in awhile when I'm on the go, may I rip to mp3 to listen via my PSP.

 

[blessingx]

Heaven forbid classical was ever played on FM or TV or ever sold on cassette or 8-track (or really CD) too.

 

[humanflyz]

Perhaps we'll get the Beatles catalog re-mastered in the quality of the recent "Love" album? That would be freaking sweet.

 

[rhythmicmoose]

I love it. The tech sites are reporting that EMI and Apple will be selling DRM-free music. The music sites are reporting that EMI and Apple will be offering the Beatles catalog on iTunes. Whatever it is, it sure will make tomorrow a little more interesting.

Who knows. Maybe while adding EMI's DRM-free catalog, they'll also make lossless an option.

 

[Davesrose]

Quote:

Originally Posted by blessingx /img/forum/go_quote.gif Heaven forbid classical was ever played on FM or TV or ever sold on cassette or 8-track (or really CD) too.

cassette, 8 track, CD, and DVD are all better audio quality then i-tunes music store.....I think FM runs neck and neck with itunes quality

So I think its blasphemy that I've noticed several older classical CDs are going out of print and are on itunes. I'd love to see stuff archived on high-res digital like SACD.

I doubt very seriously that if Apple goes DRM free, that they'll be trying to remaster their stuff to 24bit audio. Best you might hope for is regular 16bit CD quality. And even then, I can get a lot of CDs for $6 and SACDs for $12....why pay $10 for crappier sounding itunes music?

 

[Thelonious Monk]

lol, watch them make the drm even worse.

 

[blessingx]

I'm just not sure where the crying baby-Jesus angle came from? 128 AAC doesn't pollute audio. Apple tried to make an online business (with higher quality than other major options when it was introduced - 128 WMA) based on convenience (just like downloadable video v. DVD quality). It's not satisfying quality for most here, but doesn't mean there is no purpose being served (same with satellite radio, cell phone audio, AM/FM, etc.). I'm not sure what precious thing is being protected here? I haven't heard of a single CD being killed because the outlet of iTunes is now available. Now CDs killing LPs.

 

[TheMarchingMule]

UPDATE on this thread issue:

http://www.engadget.com/2007/04/01/w...-ditching-drm/

 

[Thelonious Monk]

ok, so they ditched drm. now i can only hope for this to be an april fools joke for me to still be right.

watch it be an april fools joke.... watch it happen!!! not likely but yeah. i really do hope that other labels remove DRM. i still won't buy any but that doesn't mean DRM isn't wrong.

 

[jdimitri]

I really really wish that it's the Beatles remastered

 

[Davesrose]

Quote:

Originally Posted by blessingx /img/forum/go_quote.gif 128 AAC doesn't pollute audio. Apple tried to make an online business (with higher quality than other major options when it was introduced - 128 WMA) based on convenience (just like downloadable video v. DVD quality). It's not satisfying quality for most here, but doesn't mean there is no purpose being served (same with satellite radio, cell phone audio, AM/FM, etc.). I'm not sure what precious thing is being protected here? I haven't heard of a single CD being killed because the outlet of iTunes is now available. Now CDs killing LPs.

CDs didn't kill the LP.....cassette tapes killed the LP because they were convenient and you could record off the radio. CDs are losing favor do to low quality audio standards so that mp3s sound fine through computer audio. CD sales first dropped when file sharing became popular. iTunes was just a legalized Napster: offering no better SQ then 128kps mp3s that you could download other places. Their main come on was that you could download a whole album legally, for an agreeable price.

The main reason why I have this skeptical outlook on Apple is that we're saying the best case senario is that their DRM free format might be lossless....whoppie: I've been enjoying lossless for years in the form of CD. I already know what good 24bit audio sounds like with SACD, and I would love to see a high def audio format become popular like HDTV. Maybe that will be HD radio

 

[AlanY]

The Wall Street Journal is confirming the DRM-free music:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB117547255583356319.html

Nice to see Steve Jobs following through on his earlier rhetoric about wanting to remove DRM.

 

[FalconP]

Now that EMI has agreed to DRM-free music, can we expect them to ditch the Cactus Data Shield on their CDs -- not that that matters much to me, but the logo is ugly.