DRM Free, AAC, Not MP3, Could It Be, Good For Me?
Posted on 7:50 am by Paul ColliganAs much as I enjoy the Beatles, I was thrilled to “watch along at home” as EMI announced their new DRM-free offering.
You can read all of the specifics throughout Techmeme today - so I won’t even try to re-write what has already been re-writen a billion times.
But I will, of course, make a few comments.
Why AAC? Did those Apple guys really get the music industry to support the Apple Audio Codec? Umm, no, AAC is not owned by Apple, does not stand for Apple Audio Codec, and doesn’t have the licensing problems MP3 does, nor the baggage WMA brings to the table. Take a look at the Wikipedia entry for more.
Did they do this to snub Microsoft? Again, … no. AAC works great on the Zune. Go nuts you Zuners.
Is DRM dead? No. DRM on purchased music is starting to die. It will remain on rented music and video, and the assorted ad-supported stuff (that we’re going to see more and more of). It has it’s place - but that place is heading towards supporting the customer, not frustrating them in the process.
Apple still needs a rentable music and movie scheme - and you know it is coming.
A great move today by Jobs that continues to entrench Apple as the center of this kind of good news.
And yes, it is good for all of us.
Technorati Tags: drm free, aac, emi drm, apple drm, emi itunes
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1 Comment »
April 2, 2007
tf said:
“Did they do this to snub Microsoft?”
Yes, they did. EMI is offering wma, aac, or mp3 support. Apple is choosing aac for the numerous reasons you mention. However, NONE of the stores currently selling drmed wma or going to use wma; they will choose aac since it’s what the iPod and iTunes prefer.
Also, those proclaiming subscriptions as the best thing available will look foolish. They will be the ones locked into drm-laden, expiring files in wma.
There is a larger format war at stake. Apple has been fighting to move past the ancient mp3 and to support mpegla derived formats. Now, aac will predominate at other stores and on other devices and will not be limited to tracks purchased at the iTS or ripped with iTunes default setting.