iTunes 7.2: The Music Evolves?

OK, so today we received an update from Infinite Loop. iTunes 7.2 and Quicktime 7.1.6.

Not very interesting, I know, but this is the foundation of the evolution of iTunes into a DRM-less store. Yep, we can now purchase so-called ‘iTunes Plus’ content. iTunes Plus content currently consists of EMI Music’s entire digital catalog of music, as was announced early in April. It is encoded in 256kbs AAC, but most importantly it is DRM free. One important caveat is that it is also 20¢ more expensive.

This isn’t ground-breaking news at the moment, as only a handful of the content on iTunes comes from EMI, however what is more important is the fact that the foundations are there. Meaning that others can, and most likely will, follow.

At first view, it is very well integrated into the iTMS. You simply go to your account, and at the top of that page you choose whether you want to buy plus content where available, or whether you want to stick to the regular content. You do not get presented with multiple confusing options, and it is as simple to buy music as it was before.

Another nice feature, that was mentioned when it was first announced, is that you can ‘upgrade’ your music to plus quality, and without DRM for the difference in price (i.e. 20¢ per track, or 25% of the current album price). This option resides in the ‘Quick-Links’ menu bar, which takes you to a dedicated iTunes Plus page. It tells you how many songs you have that can be upgraded, and how much it will cost. After this, you simply press ‘buy’ and your new songs are downloaded, with the old ones either being moved to the trash, or your desktop.

I’ve got to say, it is very well integrated, and quite easy to use, however, I would like to see an easier way to change between plus and normal content, perhaps in the same way as the ‘gift-it’ option is implemented. Other than that the changes seem pretty seamless. Good job to Apple on this step forward.

Check out the iTunes download page for more info.