Gear

ITunes Plus: iTunes Updated for DRM Free Music

you can pick whether to make all future purchases plus sized, and anything you have already bought can be upgraded.... The first time you buy an iTunes Plus song, you specify whether to make all future purchases iTunes Plus versions (when available).

Picture 1 1-1-2A new version of iTunes just popped up in software update for the Mac. V 7.2 adds support for the new Digital Rights Management (DRM) free music from EMI. There's no music available yet (I checked the UK and the US stores), but as Apple promised to start selling plain AACs in May, they don't have much longer.

Apple is calling the higher (256kbps) bitrate songs "iTunes Plus", and according to the help files in iTunes. The first time you buy an iTunes Plus song (an iTune Plus?) you can pick whether to make all future purchases plus sized, and anything you have already bought can be upgraded. Check after the jump for the full quote from the help file, or just go download it yourself.

No updates for the iPod yet, which makes me think this is a iTunes Store related update only. We'll probably start seeing the new music today or tomorrow.

The iTunes Store also offers songs without DRM protection, from participating record labels. These DRM-free songs, called "iTunes Plus," have no usage restrictions and feature higher-quality encoding.

The first time you buy an iTunes Plus song, you specify whether to make all future purchases iTunes Plus versions (when available). You can change this setting by accessing your account information on the iTunes Store.

If you already have iTunes Store purchases that are now available as iTunes Plus downloads, you may upgrade your existing purchases. To do so, visit the iTunes Store and follow the onscreen instructions.