Rumours swirling about more majors signing up for iTunes Plus
There’s a lot of noise online about Apple being about to sign more major labels to sell DRM-free music through iTunes, joining EMI.
For example, CNET reports that Apple is in talks with all three other majors, and that one of them is close to a final agreement. Of course, all the major labels are now offering DRM-free MP3s with some other music stores – but holding out from Apple has allowed those competitor stores to make it a selling point.
Just how badly Apple needs DRM-free deals is a matter of some debate. iTunes risks becoming one of the last digital music retailers to sell DRM-free songs. However, the selling point of DRM-free files for rivals are ‘they work on iPods’, so Steve Jobs may not need to abandon his hardball stance just yet.
