iTunes has never really been ahead of the curve. It’s started offering DRM free music way after sites like Amazon and 7-digital did, and that was only because they wanted to stay competitive. Throughout its recent history Apple really hasn’t done anything to win the hearts of developers and power users, and even average users sometimes find their attitude to be pretty pompous. (I realize I’m a bit of a hypocrite because I’m typing this on a MacBook Pro!) Apple makes good (but extremely expensive) hardware, but they screw their users in many other ways. DRM was just one of these shafts. Apple never outfits their computers with some kind of standard video out port, instead insisting on going with things like “Mini Display Port” which nobody but them supports. You’ve gotta shell out $30 for a stupid eight inch long converter cable that probably clost $5 to manufacture.
DRM free music was what Apple should have done from the beginning, so I don’t think their iTunes Plus idea is anything progressive – they’re just playing catch-up.
In my humble opinion, everything will eventually become free over the internet. Why? Because there aren’t enough policemen/women in the world to effectively combat piracy. People do it every day. It’s also been proven that giving stuff away for free and asking for donations actually makes more money than selling it. Take one of Aerosmith’s recent albums, or the “Humble Indie Game Bundle”, both of which raised far more money than they would have if sold in stores.
Glad to see Apple has gotten with the program. Only time will tell if the movie and record companies will too.