iTunes DRM-free upgrades no longer all or nothing
Although iTunes users were happy when Apple decided to go DRM-free, the all-or-nothing upgrade policy meant a hefty expenditure for those with large libraries. That problem is now in the past, as Apple will now allow upgrades by song or album.
The original process of going DRM-free required a user to upgrade his or her entire iTunes library at one time. The price for one track was 30 cents. The price for one album was $3.00. For a person with 5,000 tracks in their collection, the price to upgrade to the DRM-free format would have been a walloping $1,500. That is a lot to spend in one fell swoop to change the rights status of your music, especially in this economy.
If you don’t already know it, you can get to the DRM upgrade page in iTunes by clicking on the Upgrade To iTunes Plus link on the iTunes Store home page. Previously, the only option on that page was to upgrade your entire iTunes library at one time. That option still exists, in the form of a large button labeled “Buy All.” That option will still unprotect your entire library at once, at the original prices.
However, you can now click on individual “Buy” buttons which have appeared next to each song in your collection. The prices have not changed. It is still 30 cents per track or $3.00 per album. But using the new process, it is possible to upgrade your library a little bit at a time without having to get a bank loan to upgrade it all at once.
As noted in the story on Macworld, there is a caveat: If you use iTunes’ Shopping Cart for purchasing media and add an album to that Shopping Cart, it will be listed at full price rather than the upgrade price. Click the Shopping Cart’s Buy Now button and you will pay full price for the album ($9.99 versus $3, for example). For this reason, until Apple irons out this glitch, be sure to set iTunes’ Store preference to Buy and Download Using 1-Click. Use with care.
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