From the Yeah-I-Knew-This-Was-Going-To-Happen Department:
Apple’s just dropped the cost of DRM-free, 256kbps AAC tracks from the iTunes Store from US$1.29 to the usual US$.99 per track, making the high-quality iTunes Plus tracks the same price as the regular stuff while “offering audio quality virtually indistinguishable from the original recordings” and free from oppressive digital rights management to boot. (They used to charge a thirty-cent upgrade fee to bump up previously-bought tracks to iTunes Plus level.)
In addition to the EMI catalog of these songs, Apple has added (among other labels) Sub Pop, Nettwerk, Beggars Group, IODA, The Orchard and more. Now at over 2 million tracks, this makes the iTunes Store the largest DRM-Free high-quality online music source thus far.
Hopefully someday soon, it’ll all be like this. And even cheaper.
