Over 10 million songs on the iTunes catalogue were restrained by digital rights management (DRM) software that restricted users’ ability to play their music on other devices than iTunes compatible players.
A new format, called iTunes Plus, will now enable downloaders to play and access the media without the old restrictions.
The news also comes with the added incentive of Apple offering variable pricing for the first time. UK users will be able to download tracks for 59p, 79p and 99p.
"We are thrilled to be able to offer our iTunes customers DRM-free iTunes Plus songs in high quality audio and our iPhone 3G customers the ability to download music from iTunes anytime, anywhere over their 3G network at the same price as downloading to your computer or via Wi-Fi," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO.
The iTunes store has a catalogue of more than 10 million songs, 30,000 TV episodes and 2,500 films including more than 600 in high definition video.
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Date Published: January 07, 2009
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