DRM

Many online music stores employ DRM to restrict the usage of music purchased and downloaded online. There are many options for consumers buying digital music over the internet, in terms of both stores and purchase options. Two examples of music stores and their functionality follow:

• The i-Tunes store, run by Apple allows users to purchase a track online for under a dollar. The tracks purchased use Apple's Fairplay DRM system. Steve Jobs has stated that Apple would be willing to sell music on i-Tunes without DRM As a result of this, EMI has agreed to sell its music DRM-free and at a higher quality on i-Tunes for a 30 cent premium, beginning in May 2007.
• Napster , which offers a subscription based approach to DRM alongside permanent purchases. Users of the subscription service can download and stream an unlimited amount of music encoded to WMA while subscribed to the service. But as soon as the user misses a payment the service renders all music downloaded unusable.