Far From Home

Apple is Charging for DRM Removal... Goddamnit.

Well, any props that I had reserved for Apple as a result of their decision to remove DRM from iTunes downloads are now getting the shaft.  Turns out they are going to charge 30 cents per song for the removal of DRM copy-protection from anything downloaded from the iTunes music store prior to this decision.  

So, basically, they clearly have decided that DRM was a poor business decision, and clearly admit this. Why is it, exactly, that Apple customers are paying to reverse the mistake that inconvenienced them in the first place?  It makes no sense, but it's a very "Apple" move.

Lame.  Lame.  Lame.  Apple always manages to be almost cool, but then undeniably lame at the last second.  Their new pricing model has some decidedly lame points to it as well.

DRM-Free iTunes?!?

It's official... Apple has announced some major changes to the iTunes Music Store... The biggest of which is the removal of all Digital Rights Management (copy protection) from purchased music.  They are also providing a means of converting any existing DRM-enabled songs in your library.  

This is potentially a huge step towards the music industry of the future, as iTunes is definitely the 800-pound gorilla of the online music store industry, and their decision to remove DRM from their downloads could prove quite influential throughout.  We shall see.

More information after the jump.

[Gizmodo Macworld 2009 Coverage]