Waiting for a DRM-Free iTunes

There are Apple rumors that never seem to die, amd a DRM-free iTunes is one of them. According to French site Electron Libre, Apple is set to add DRM-free music from Sony BMG, Warner Music, and Universal Music to its catalog, starting Tuesday.

EMI already sells DRM-free music on iTunes via iTunes Plus.

Now, it makes perfect sense for Apple to do this at some point. After all, I steer everyone I know to Amazon MP3 for "easy to download to iTunes DRM-free music." With their downloader, it's even easier to get the tracks into iTunes. And Amazon MP3 has been making quite a few deals lately, so despite the fact that iTunes owns most of the market, Apple is bound to have noticed.

But while the three other major labels besides EMI seem OK with signing DRM-free deals with other retailers such as Amazon MP3, nothing has happened with iTunes. Is it because Apple is holding out, or is it the other way around?

After all, if Apple gets DRM-free tracks from all the major labels, its market share might jump to 98%, which would make negotiating with it even more of a nightmare.

At any rate, C|Net says its sources say negotiations are still ongoing, and not to hold your breath --- at least for this rumor.