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Editor's note: This article was written Monday, before Apple made any announcements about changes to iTunes. You can read the story that followed the company's formal announcement at Macworld 2009 here.

Apple has cut deals that will finally enable iTunes to offer songs free of copy protection software from the three largest music labels, according to two sources close to the negotiations. In exchange, Apple has agreed to become more flexible on pricing, the sources said.

Under the terms of the deal, song prices will be broken down into three categories--older songs from the catalog, midline songs (newer songs that aren't big hits), and current hits--said one of the sources. Apple has offered songs free of digital rights management protections from EMI for more than a year. But EMI accounts for less than 10 percent of music sold in the U.S.; these new deals will expand iTunes' DRM-free library to include songs from the other three major labels (Sony BMG, Universal, and Warner Music).

Apple and the music labels have also apparently come to terms on over-the-air downloads, according to a source. That would allow iPhone owners to download songs to their mobile devices via cell networks and without the aid of Wi-Fi. Apple, which closed the deals last week, could announce the agreements as early as Tuesday at the Macworld Conference and Expo in San Francisco.

Apple did not respond to requests for comment.

DRM-free songs are something that many iTunes users have requested for some time. However, the celebration over their appearance at the country's largest music retailer may be overshadowed by increased prices on some hit songs, which might be seen by some as an Apple surrender on pricing. Apple fans have long applauded the company for holding the line on pricing despite loud complaints from the major music labels.

The good news is that the price of catalog music is falling to 79 cents per song. The labels will get an opportunity to price some hit songs for more than 99 cents but eventually those songs will drop to 79 cents, according to one source.

Before iTunes users get too worked up, they should remember that song prices at iTunes haven't increased in five years. According to the Consumer Price Index, a 99-cent song in 2002 would be worth $1.17 today.

Not only will new music downloads be free of copy-protection software, but Apple and the labels will begin removing DRM from music already available in the iTunes Store, the source said. However, it's unclear what will happen to songs that have already been purchased.

Click here for more Macworld Expo coverage from CNET News.

In a time when '60s pop-soul is back in style, artists such as Amy Winehouse and Duffy are in high demand. Anjulie is right there in the mix with her catchy throwback single "Boom," which has enough bounce for the dance club yet is laid-back enough for headphone listening.

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*From the Free MP3 archive* Though they left indie labels behind years ago, Death Cab's indie cred's still in full effect. Singer-guitarist Ben Gibbard's confessional, heartfelt lyrics come wrapped in meticulously placed arrangements and straightforward production that results in sturdy, melodic music.

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Playing off the West Coast sibling theme, Kurupt and Roscoeâ??s updated version of The Frank and Jess Story swaps out the horses for lowriders and the cowboy boots for Air Force Ones, and it includes an iller posse featuring Daz Dillinger, Too Short, and Kokane.

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*From the Free MP3 archive* Residents at C.M. Bidasoa in Pamplona, Spain, perform these unadorned Gregorian chants. It's beautiful vocal work inspired by deeply religious experiences.

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Digital music, long the bane of the music industry, may finally be something that record label executives can smile about.

For 2008, total music sales rose 10 percent to 1.51 billion units sold, up from 1.36 billion units the year before, according to industry tracker Nielsen. Units tallied include physical albums, digital albums and tracks, and music videos.

The biggest contributor to the growth was digital music, Nielsen reported. There were 1.07 billion digital tracks sold in 2008, up 27 percent from 2007, and there were 65.8 million digital albums sold, up 32 percent.

Those numbers square with recent reports on music downloads. For the third quarter, for instance, legal music downloads from sites such as iTunes and AmazonMP3 were up 29 percent from the same period a year earlier, according to NPD Group.

And coincidentally or not, the Recording Industry Association of America in December said that it would dramatically curb its practice of suing people that it suspected of illegal sharing of copyrighted music.

All told, according to Nielsen, the number of albums sold--including CDs, LPs, and digital albums--fell 14 percent to 428 million in the year just ended. Physical albums sold through e-commerce sites fell 8.6 percent to 27.5 million units from 2007 to 2008.

Universal Music Group came out on top among record labels for total album sales in 2008 (31.5 percent market share, down ever so slightly from 2007) as well as for digital albums and digital tracks (market shares of 27.8 percent and 31.8 percent, respectively). Sony BMG was second overall, with 25.3 percent of all album sales for the year, Nielsen said.

The top-selling digital song for 2008 was "Bleeding Love" from Leona Lewis, with 3.4 million units sold, while Rihanna was the top-selling digital artist, with 9.9 million units sold.

Radiohead claimed top honors in the vinyl realm, both as an artist and for one of its albums. The rock band sold 61,200 vinyl albums during the year, of which 25,800 were its In Rainbows album. In 2007, In Rainbows was the focal point of an experiment by Radiohead to let people pay whatever they saw fit to download the album.

Nielsen noted that vinyl sales set a record in its SoundScan era, at 1.88 million units sold, beating the previous record of 1.5 million from 2000. (Nielsen SoundScan tracks point-of-purchase sales of recorded music.)

Leona Lewis, Rihanna, and Coldplay were among the top-selling artists in the digital realm for 2008.

(Credit: Nielsen)

Synths can be seductive for solo artists; the keyboard gives you options, but it won't solve other problems. Kellarissa's "Flamingo" LP shows what less skilled bards are forever driving at. Processed hazes envelop vocals that would be fine on their own, and the result is an elegant post-torch pop.

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In marketing materials for its new $150 in-ear headphones, Monster headlines its package with the question, "The world's best-sounding earphones?" I'm not sure if we should take this as a declaration or an actual question, but so far the answer from Amazon reviewers and some blogs is a pretty stiff "no."

Monster's new $150 earphones promise great sound.

(Credit: Amazon)

To be fair, some blogs have reviewed the Turbines favorably. It's also worth noting that Amazon reviews can be written by anyone, including PR reps from other manufacturers (not that we're accusing anybody of anything). But it's rare that you see a product get a one-star rating from virtually every "reviewer" (at the time of this writing there were 11 one-star reviews and one four-star review).

Part of the problem stems from the fact that Monster has its share of both fans and detractors. As one reviewer from Amazon's End User blog notes, "Monster Cable has always had a bit of an embattled reputation amongst enthusiasts--strong opinions on both sides fly back and forth on message boards and newsgroups like verbal trebuchets whenever their name comes up."

Personally, I think it's risky for a manufacturer to go overboard with marketing hyperbole, especially when you're entering a fairly mature market. Yes, you want to make a splash, but there's the danger of over-promising and under-delivering.

In its press release, Monster says the Turbines are the "world's first high-performance in-ear headphones with specially engineered drivers that deliver impeccable audiophile-quality sound." Well, that's simply not true. Shure makes earbuds that deliver audiophile-quality sound. Etymotic, too. And several other companies would make the same claim.

What do you guys think? Is Monster getting a bum rap? Or are the Turbines as good as the company makes them out to be?

P.S. We'll have our own review of the earphones early next year, after the holiday break.

*From the Free MP3 archive* On new tracks like "Liar (It Takes One To Know One)," the punk/pop heroes continue to evolve their means of crossing alternative leanings with arena-ready hooks. Here, their slight--and welcome--subversions include moodier prod on guitars and genuinely achy vocals.

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As I said in my 2008 sum-up, people tend to overestimate the amount of change that will happen in one year--which means my best bet for 2009 would be to simply reiterate my almost-there predictions from 2008, like the death of DRM and the decline of the concert industry.

What does my 2009 crystal ball predict?

(Credit: Wikimedia Commons)

But that would be boring. Thus, behold my all-new-and-improved predictions for music and technology in 2009:

Zune phone--sort of. 2009 will finally be the year that Microsoft takes the wraps off its mobile-entertainment strategy, and the Zune brand will be prominently featured. Perhaps as early as next week at CES, Microsoft will announce a version of the Zune Marketplace and accompanying client software for mobile phones--perhaps only Windows Mobile, but perhaps some other platforms as well. There's an outside chance that the company will also announce plans to build its own music phone, but not at CES, and only if the third-party approach fails to gain traction against the iPhone and RIM. I don't think the Zune-phone strategy will be tied to Windows Mobile 7, though, as I don't think that platform will come out until 2010.

$99 iPhone. Apple will introduce a 4GB iPhone that will sell for $99 with a two-year AT&T data contract. (Or, less likely, lower the 8GB price to $99 by mid-year.) With this new lower price, the iPhone will continue to gain market share at the expense of Symbian and Windows Mobile. Apple will also lower the price on the iPod Touch at the same time.

RIM will get music right. Research in Motion continues to do well against the iPhone juggernaut, although the Storm was widely considered a stumble. But so far, RIM has focused on its core strength--communications--and left music as something of an afterthought. This will change in 2009, as RIM upgrades its phones with more memory and a better media interface and signs deals with Rhapsody or other online music services. Or maybe RIM will just up and buy Rhapsody owner RealNetworks: according to Yahoo Finance, RIM's cash on hand ($1.68 billion) is greater than Real's market cap ($479 million) .

Sony will surprise. Not by lowering the price of the PS3 enough to start taking market share from Xbox 360--sorry, but that horse has left the barn--but by releasing a touch-screen Walkman-branded audio/video player at a competitive price point in the U.S. (Read: $1 less than the equivalent iPod Touch). Wi-Fi will be included, as will a link to a new online music and video store that's owned by Sony, but features songs and videos from other companies. (I agree with Donald Bell that a partnership with Amazon seems unlikely.) Reviewers will gush over it, and it'll help Sony recapture some of the old magic that's eluded the company. Music gadget of the year.

A big online music store will fail. It's never fun to predict failure, but the recession will claim at least one of today's major online music sellers--Napster, eMusic, or perhaps Rhapsody.

The Big Four will become the Big Three. Hard economic times lead to consolidation, and the music business was having trouble even before the latest downturn. Look for Guy Hands to unload EMI to Universal or Warner before the end of the year.

Ticket competition won't lower prices. Ticketmaster's contract with Live Nation ends on Jan. 1, meaning that there will be two national ticketing agencies handling sales for big arenas. But this competition won't lower prices--both agencies will still tack on service charges worth up to 20% of the list price. Why? Because big concerts still operate like a monopoly--your favorite stadium band is probably only coming to one place in your city this year, and whoever sells those tickets will have an exclusive.

Online-first releases will become the norm. Radiohead, Nine Inch Nails, David Byrne and Brian Eno, Girl Talk, and a handful of other acts released albums in 2008 in online form well before they came out as a CD. By the end of 2009, at least one of the major labels will make it standard release practice, and dozens of releases from big-name artists will come out online first, perhaps even with a couple of free MP3 samples.

One major act will (temporarily) abandon albums. At least one major artist--maybe an aging legend with a strong touring base, less likely a hot pop or hip-hop act--will announce that they're no longer going to release full-length CDs. They'll go on to release at least a dozen singles--some exclusively online--with no intervening album. Their grosses will suck, though, and eventually they'll compile the singles into a good old-fashioned greatest-hits CD, sold for $20 at HMV and Amazon.com.

The next hip music town will be in an unexpected country. It's been a few years since we've had a ton of hype about a local music scene--I'm thinking about the kind of mainstream media fascination that found San Francisco in the late '60s, New York and London in the early punk days, or Seattle in the grunge era of the early '90s, complete with chart-topping innovators, flash-in-the-pan imitators, and movies featuring beautiful but tragically addicted twenty-somethings in period settings. We're due for another, only this time it won't be in North America or Western Europe. Brazil, India, or Eastern Europe could all fit the bill--are you ready for the St. Petersburg version of Singles?