Apple’s decision a few weeks back to make music files downloaded from iTunes DRM-free (Digital Rights Management) was a great move.  Now what you download from iTunes can be played on any number of devices, not just 5 like before, and  not just using  iTunes on your computer or an iPod.   The gotcha in all this was the announcement by Apple that it would cost .30 cents per music file to convert your existing iTunes library to the DRM-free format.  Talk about double dipping!  Over a year ago, I swore off of Apple’s music products as the shine came off with the realization and understanding of this sort of money-grubbing control tactic.   Now, it turns out that Apple has taken their big brother game up a notch. A recent Slashdot Posting based on this CNet article confirms that your email address is embedded in each and every music file you download from iTunes.  Not a big deal if you abide by copyright law in a very strict way.  If you decide to share your recently liberated, DRM-Free music file with a friend or two and that file ends up on a P2P (Kazaa, Bit Torrent, etc.) network somehow, and the RIAA notices… then your little indiscretion could get very expensive.

I am in no way advocating the illegal copying and sharing of copyrighted music.  I believe artists deserve to get paid for their work and I buy every song I listen to.  I still prefer to buy and rip Cd’s (or vinyl) so that I always have an uncompressed version of the music to listen to on my home stereo system and control over the quality of the MP3 that I put on my portable devices.

Bottom line: embedding your personal information in a file without your knowledge is an evil practice in nature.  This should be disclosed up front and be part of the decision making process whether or not to buy.  I hope Apple’s customers make some noise about this and force a policy change.