Review: posted on Yahoo! Podcasts
After reading over the episode information, I think the main attribute of the new iTunes’ Premium Downloads, was missed. The reason the new premium music files from iTunes and EMI are revolutionary is because it is another brick out of the music industries sacred tower. After being the driving force in the legal music download industry, Apple has yet again taken one step further in breaking down the strangle hold that the record labels have on their customers. Now with DRM free music files, once you buy and download them, you are not restricted in how you use them. You can play them on any player/computer that understands the format of the file. The evaluation of whether the human ear can distinguish between the different bitrates is quite correct, but the fact that they now have a higher bitrate is only secondary. Amazon will also be offering DRM free music. Although, theirs will be even better, as the files will be in the popular mp3 format. Making the files even more portable.
Original post:
Explainer: Are iTunes’ Premium Downloads Worth It?, Slate Explainer Podcasts – Episode Page on Yahoo! Podcasts
