Apple lowers prices on unlocked music tracks

Apple Inc. has reduced the price of songs it sells without copy protection online to 99 cents from $1.29, the company announced Wednesday.

The drop in price puts Apple's prices closer to those of Amazon.com, which unveiled its own music store in September and is selling unlocked audio tracks for 89 to 99 cents.

In May Apple's iTunes store began selling audio tracks without embedded digital rights management (DRM) software copy-protection software that limits where songs or movies can be played and distributed after reaching a licensing deal with music company EMI Group PLC to offer the unlocked tracks.

EMI also licenses unlocked tracks to Amazon.

DRM technology is a contentious issue in the consumer technology industry, with many record labels insisting it is needed to prevent online piracy, while consumer advocates argue the technology places unwarranted restrictions on lawful copying of media files.

Because the tracks come without DRM software, they can also be played on any digital music player and not just iPods.

Apple originally offered the tracks at a premium price of $1.29. The new price is now the same price Apple sells its other, copy-protected songs.

The DRM-free songs are encoded using the Advanced Audio Coding, or AAC, format, which Apple said leads to sharper, clearer sound.

Canada's iTunes store has a catalogue with over five million songs, according to Apple Canada.