Yes! I don't know how many purchased tracks I have from EMI, but I plan to upgrade all that I still like when iTunes starts offering that option next month. I applaud EMI and Apple for taking this important step. I have to say that I am equally excited about the quality improvement as I am about the elimination of DRM.
Thirty cents is about the top of my range for that extra value, but I might pay even more just to encourage Apple to offer music at a higher quality. Doubling the bit rate from 128 AAC to 256 AAC moves it to about the level I use when I encode music for my iPod (320 kbps AAC).
I was a little disappointed that the quality was not Apple Lossless, but satisfied with the compromise of 256 AAC.
I personally expect to buy more music in this format than I have previously.
The introduction of Apple TV might have put more pressure on music quality. If you are playing your iTunes in the living room, you may be playing it on a fancy stereo or home theater audio system. You can hear quality differences there that wouldn't be apparent on the average iPod.
Hopefully, people will buy lots of this new EMI music and other record labels will follow! [Photo: New York Times]