Upgrade to iTunes Plus by the Song


Apple has updated their iTunes Plus area to allow for upgrading your iTunes library to DRM Free iTunes Plus tracks by the song. One would assume this is in an attempt to improve upgrade sales.

I have to say, though, that I find the whole having to pay an additional fee to be rid of the DRM a little more than mildly offensive.

Sure, they’re going to upgrade the sound quality as well – but that’s just an excuse to justify the charge.

I shouldn’t have to pay an additional fee for them to remove something that I didn’t WANT to be there in the first place.

I don’t buy much music, and my library upgrade costs are at $42 for about 100 songs. I can’t imagine how much it will cost someone who’s an actual music lover. Of course, maybe the upgrade in sound quality is worth it for the music lover, and they won’t complain.

I spend most of my time listening to talk-centric podcasts, and hardly ever listen to music.

So that leads me to my questions —

a) Do you think that we should be forced to pay an additional $0.30 to upgrade our songs?

b) Are you a music lover, and if so, do you think that affects your reasoning behind your feelings on the upgrade?



Kokou Adzo

Kokou Adzo is a stalwart in the tech journalism community, has been chronicling the ever-evolving world of Apple products and innovations for over a decade. As a Senior Author at Apple Gazette, Kokou combines a deep passion for technology with an innate ability to translate complex tech jargon into relatable insights for everyday users.

2 Comments

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  1. Yes, you should pay. It costs money to provide the now DRM-free music.

    In my mind, while annoying, it’s little different than the LP -> 8-track -> cassette -> CD progression.

    I didn’t want 8-tracks, but I wanted something that could play in my car. Cassettes were better. CDs were better stil.

    256 kilobit DRM-free music is better than 128 kilobit DRM-laden music. I’m pleased that Apple was able to force them to treat this as an upgrade. ’cause you can bet your ass that the music industry wanted to treat it as another replacement cycle!

    reinharden

  2. This is the kind of nickel and dime bull that killed the music industry.
    The industry could surely have given the OK to upgrade as a good faith offer for those of us who actually buy music.
    I watch kids all the time using free downloads with Aries and I just want to do the right thing.
    It would be nice if the record companies took that approach once before they are gone for good.