DRM-Free Tunes on Sale at Wal-Mart
Tue Aug 21, 2007 11:43AM EDT
See Comments (214)
The retail giant just began selling digital music free from copy protection today, at just 94 cents per song, versus $1.29/song on iTunes. Let the DRM-free price wars begin!
Reuters is reporting that Wal-Mart's DRM-free music store is selling thousands of songs from labels such as EMI (which signed a DRM-free pact with Apple last April) and Universal Music (which recently announced that it was entering the DRM-free music fray, although not on iTunes). Even better, the copy protection-free tracks will go for just 94 cents a song, compared to the $1.29 premium that Apple is charging for its DRM-free music on iTunes.
Wal-Mart's new DRM-free music store will include tracks by artists such as the Rolling Stones, Amy Winehouse, and Maroon 5, according to Reuters, and you'll be able to snap up entire albums for $9.22 in addition to the 94 cents/song pricing scheme.
While I'm not exactly a huge Wal-Mart fan, I'd be more than happy to see retail behemoth force Apple to lower its own DRM-free music prices. While Apple and EMI deserve credit for opening the door to legit sales of copy protection-free music, the decision to raise DRM-free prices on iTunes to $1.29/song (compared to the standard 99-cents-a-song price for copy-protected tunes) seems wrong-headed, at best.
Update: In even more DRM-free news, Engadget is reporting that Universal has launched its "test" with Rhapsody, offering a limited selection of DRM-free songs from its catalog for 99 cents a song (or 89 cents/song for Rhapsody subscribers).
Related:
Wal-Mart selling digital music free of copy curbs [Yahoo! News/Reuters]
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Comments on DRM-Free Tunes on Sale at Wal-Mart
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27 Posted by pattienrandy on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:01PM EDT Report Abuse
can we import the songs we bought from walmart into our itunes library and play on our ipod?
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28 Posted by swrproductions on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:52PM EDT Report Abuse
iTunes started this!! It is really not right for people to just come in and steal Apple's ideas!! Apple started this... and Is going to fini----- !! Apple will win in the end!!
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29 Posted by missiz10 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:21PM EDT Report Abuse
this article has their prices wrong
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30 Posted by sethnintendo on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:14PM EDT Report Abuse
True that raf.... I get cds from friends and rip them to my computer. Screw paying 99 cents per song!
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31 Posted by jonjbayarea on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:40PM EDT Report Abuse
"songs cost 99 cents on itunes. not 1.29 " no, youre wrong. Songs on iTunes with DRM cost 99cents that means you can only play them on an iPod. Songs with NO DRM cost $1.29, Walmart is selling songs without DRM for 94cents which is even cheaper than iTunes DRMed songs. The choice is simple, Walmarts deal is better. The songs cost much less and you can use them on any mp3 player!
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32 Posted by dsolano_07 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:49PM EDT Report Abuse
what's DRM?
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33 Posted by latingirl2527 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:57PM EDT Report Abuse
Actually songs on i-tunes are .99/ song UNLESS you're buying the drm-free version of the songs called "i-tunes plus". so people try to get the thing straight
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34 Posted by beautifulham94 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:04PM EDT Report Abuse
hmmmmmm.......very interesting.a song on iTunes cost .99 cents not $1.29/a video cost $1.99.Makes me wonder if this is true.
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35 Posted by sahar_reka on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:59PM EDT Report Abuse
Yea, songs are 99 cents on iTunes. invalid information.
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36 Posted by jceasley on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:30PM EDT Report Abuse
DRM-Free songs on iTunes are 1.29 per song, while the DRM versions are .99. So, the article is correct.
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37 Posted by regal_sbrooks on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:35PM EDT Report Abuse
Let's wait and see how long it takes Walmart to source this in China like they do EVERY thing else.
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38 Posted by laa1664@sbcglobal.net on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:55PM EDT Report Abuse
ashander2, they're talking about DRM-free, not the songs you can only play on itunes and ipods...although, there is a way around that ^.^
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39 Posted by nastyoldasshole on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:33PM EDT Report Abuse
to wheezer and ashander, price for copy protected songs = 99 cents, for DRM-free songs its $1.29
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40 Posted by nmrsch on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:40PM EDT Report Abuse
This is referring to DRM-free music, which is $1.29 on iTunes, not $.99. So yeah, it is correct, which means that iTunes is overpriced.
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41 Posted by asianpnay1 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 2:58PM EDT Report Abuse
how can i get i-tunes
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42 Posted by rustysurfing07 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:57PM EDT Report Abuse
itunes sells 1.29 songs that are DRM FREE, DRM songs are .99 cents guys. the article isnt wrong, just gotta read.
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43 Posted by mystguy on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:32PM EDT Report Abuse
Apple customers = iFools. They overpay for stuff with built-in obsolescence and unecessary proprietary restrictions that guarantee more of their money to Apple.
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44 Posted by dobranf on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:45PM EDT Report Abuse
I would buy songs on iTunes even if they were 10 times the price of anything WalMart offered. No feeding the juggernaut for me.
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45 Posted by ggroman on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:08PM EDT Report Abuse
This is precisely why Lime Wire is so popular.
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26 Posted by dominicmcintire on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:46PM EDT Report Abuse
Yes, regular songs cost .99, but DRM-free songs cost 1.29. These are songs that have no copy protection on them, and they DO cost more. Maybe do some research before posting. :eye-roll: