iTunes Gets Cheaper & Adds More DRM-Free Tracks Comments

"Previously coming in 192kbps AAC, iTunes Plus music is now encoded at 256kbps AAC"

Actually, it has ALWAYS been 256kbps. I know- I was among the first to buy iTunes Plus tracks when they first appeared.
What's also good news is the music videos also becoming DRM free. As a Mac user, it is hard to come by legal copies of music videos that can play on the Mac OS. 7digital offer them using the WMV DRM'd codec which is no good for Mac OS users.
Fair play to Apple for finally pulling their finger out. But cheaper prices at 7digital and Amazon should still give them a run for their money.

i was expecting another paragraph saying "apple lossless now available at x price".

oh well, at least some things at apple are coming down in price. the 17 inch macbook price is downright extortionate - and paying more for a matte screen!?

Hi Hugo. Actually, it is still wrong.

"Unlike iTunes tracks of old, which came in 192kbps AAC"

I am assuming that there you are on about the original DRM'd tracks? These are and always have been 128kbps, not 192kbps. So the iTunes Plus equivalent is literally double the quality.

"iTunes Plus music is encoded at 256kbps AAC which is lower than the 320kbps offered by most other stores, but then the audio quality at the same bit-rate is definitely superior with AAC. I'd bet good money most listeners couldn't differentiate between a 256kbps AAC and a 320kbps MP3 of the same track"

COMPLETELY agree. In fact, I prefer the quality of iTunes Plus to a 320kbps mp3 equivalent. They seem crisper somehow, while retaining bass.

Geez Hugo, what were you drinking then!?

Vodka?? Old Peculiar?? Tea??? Put me out of my misery ;)

As a Zune owner myself (120GB) this is very good news. Even more so since the Zune Marketplace isn't even here in Canada still!