Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Smart Home
  3. Legacy Archives

Apple Slices Prices on DRM-Free Tunes

Add as a preferred source on Google
Apple Slices Prices on DRM-Free Tunes
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Weeks after Amazon directly challenged the iTunes store with an online music library comprised completely of DRM-free music, Apple seems to be feeling the heat and has reduced prices on its own DRM-free offerings. On Tuesday, Apple cut  the prices on its iTunes Plus catalog to 99 cents per song, down from $1.29.

According to Apple, the iTunes store will continue to build its collection of unprotected tracks. “We’re adding over two million tracks from key independent labels in addition to EMI’s digital catalog and look forward to even more labels and artists making their music available on iTunes Plus,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s vice president of iTunes, in a statement.

Recommended Videos

Apple claims the iTunes Plus catalog is now the largest DRM-free catalog in the world, at 2 million songs. Oddly enough, Amazon also claimed to have 2 million tracks at launch, meaning, at the very least, that the two are still neck and neck.

Nick Mokey
As Digital Trends’ Editor in Chief, Nick Mokey oversees an editorial team covering every gadget under the sun, along with…
LG SIGNATURE WM9900HSA washing machine review: A washer that’s as fun as it is good looking
LG's premium washer wants you to embrace AI and digital controls on a sleek kit with a luxurious identity.
LG SIGNATURE WM9900HSA washer and drying machine.

view at LG

Quick Review

Read more
Apple Home AI features come with a hidden price tag
Your cameras just got smarter, but so did Apple's upsell game.
Apple Home

I previously covered the new Apple Home AI features revealed at WWDC 2026, which include several quality-of-life improvements, including auto-updating notifications, smarter camera search, automatic tracking and stitching of multiple videos for a single event, and higher-resolution recordings, among others. 

Like many Apple Home features, these features are only available to iCloud+ customers. However, at the event, Apple didn’t notify which plans will get access to these features. Today, we get the answer in the release notes of macOS Golden Gate beta 3, and you are not going to like it. 

Read more
Amazon wants to design in-house chips for Kindles, Fire TV, and Echo speakers
Apple did it first. Amazon is doing it now, starting with 40 million chips a year and a partner most people have never heard of.
Amazon Kindle Scribe dark mode featured image.

Apple's decision to design its own chips reshaped the consumer electronics industry. Amazon may be about to make the same call, just about two decades later.

Supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reports that Amazon is preparing to shift away from externally sourced processors for its consumer electronics lineup, marking what he describes as the company's first major processor procurement change in 20 years. The transition is expected to begin in 2027.

Read more