iTunes 25% DRM Free - Thanks Steve and EMI
iTunes officially dipped their foot into DRM free market today offering a subset of iTunes called iTunes Plus. iTunes Plus will offer 256kbps quality audio files that can be transferred and played back unrestricted. The cost for these Plus tracks will be $1.29, slightly higher than the current restricted pricing at $.99; however, the price per album will remain the same. As well, you'll need to download the latest version of iTunes 7.2 to have access to all the new features.
Unfortunately, according to AppleInsider the iTunes Plus catalog currently only contains EMI recordings, but rest assured that every effort is being given to garnering the inclusion of Sony, Warner and Universal. Apple CEO Steve Jobs is optimistic that iTunes Plus will have over 50% of the songs available on iTunes by the end of 2007.