April 16, 2007 issue - Here's great news for digital-music fans: at a press conference last week, EMI, one of the four major labels, said that beginning next month it will let Apple sell its entire catalog on iTunes without the anti-piracy software known as digital-rights management, or DRM. Now iTunes songs can be played on devices other than the iPod, as well as allowing law-abiding customers to make all the personal copies they want. EMI says it's also negotiating with other online stores.

The bad news is that it will cost more. While you can still buy the current format (DRM-laden tracks for 99 cents), the new format, with no DRM and improved sound quality (near CD-level), sells for $1.29 per track. You can upgrade your old songs for the 30-cent difference. (If you buy an album, you get the new format for the same price.) Apple CEO Steve Jobs predicts other labels will follow.

--Steven Levy