BERKELEY — Apple Inc. and EMI Group want digital music fans to pay more money for more freedom.
EMI, the world's fourth-largest record label, said Monday that it had agreed to sell its 150,000-song catalog through Apple's iTunes store without the anti-piracy software that limits which devices can play digital music. EMI acts include Coldplay and the Rolling Stones -- only the Beatles were excluded from the deal.
The companies plan to charge $1.29 -- 30 cents more than other iTunes songs -- for tracks with better sound quality and none of the digital locks designed to prevent theft. They are banking on music aficionados to recognize the difference.
Music sales: An April 2 article in Section A and an April 3 article in Business said that EMI Group was the world's fourth-largest record label. EMI ranks third in global sales.
"You are looking at a group of people who care about audio quality," Forrester Research analyst James McQuivey said. "That's why EMI and Apple are saying, 'Pay 30 cents more for better music rather than pay 30 cents more for music without the copyright protection.' "
Eliminating the so-called digital rights management, or DRM, software isn't a free pass to swap copyrighted songs through illicit file-sharing networks such as EDonkey or LimeWire -- that's still illegal. Instead, the move puts songs purchased through online stores such as iTunes on the same footing as CDs, which don't include anti-piracy features.
"We've always argued that the best way to combat illegal traffic is to make legal content available at decent value and conveniently," EMI Chief Executive Eric Nicoli said. "And we take the view that we have to trust consumers."
The London-based company is the first major record label to drop the copying protections. Analysts and Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs predicted that other labels would follow.
EMI said the existing restrictions, which also limit the number of digital copies that can be made of a song, have repelled the very people who should be the most avid online music buyers.
Music lovers who buy music online have long complained about the copying restrictions, which inadvertently reward people who download music illegally because they can play music on many devices and make unlimited copies.
"The very people who we thought should be leading the charge of digital music were the same people saying it doesn't work for us," said Barney Wragg, head of digital for EMI Music.
