darcusblog

So it seems Steve Jobs managed to convince a first major record label to take the anti-DRM plunge. This is a good step, in that it removes one major impediment to my willingness to buy content from services like iTunes.

But there’s one other major problem with the existing state of affairs in online music that this deal does not really address. Yes, they offer the songs in a slightly higher bit-rate and quality for a little more money. But the files are still lossy compressed: an obvious step down from the quality one would expect of CDs.

So what would it take for me to be willing to buy content from iTunes? Simple; for content to be available in an open lossless format like FLAC, ultimately including quality levels better than CD.

Otherwise, I’ll continue to restrict myself to buying CDs and higher resolution alternatives.