I wrote earlier this year about the EMI Record company releasing non-DRM songs and albums to iTunes. Well, it’s in full effect and many other labels are taking part. To learn about that, click here.
I was excited, then not excited. I was glad to hear that the files would not be copy protected, but then learned that they would be AAC format. Now, that’s not a bad thing – AAC is a very good sounding file, but I like MP3 since it’s more universal. Fortunately, you can easily convert the files within iTunes to MP3 if you’d like to move them around (in my case, to play them on my TiVo).
I just downloaded Steven Curtis Chapman’s “I Believe in You” from one of his newer albums. It sounds great. I then found a Merle Haggard best of CD and am loving it (don’t mind my taste, the sound is terrific!). What gives me peace of mind is the fact that in the future, if I have a different player than an iPod, I’ll be able to use these files unhindered by copy protection.
I applaud the labels involved and iTunes for taking this step. Hopefully they’ll understand that consumers aren’t going to just throw these files back on the web for people to steal. I paid for these songs fair and square . . . I’m not interested in pirating them to the public.
Now I’ll just have to keep my wallet in check since iTunes is soooo very easy to buy from!