There are dozens of reasons to dislike iTunes. The newest versions run slowly and use a lot of a computer's memory, there are oftentimes connection problems with the iTunes store, and it sometimes freezes and shuts down. But one of the biggest complaints about the digital media giant is that the music available through iTunes includes DRM, or digital rights management. DRM restricts the user from playing a protected file on certian devices and is what allows iTunes to limit a file to being on only five computers. And it is a major problem for music fans who use iTunes to get their music, but want to play it on a device other than an iPod.
According to this article by Iain Laing, Amazon recently started distributing music without DRM in Britain. This could signal the end of Apple's dominance of the digital music industry. People will no longer be limited to the number of times they can burn a particular file onto a CD or how many devices they are allowed to play the file on. They can even play files on any MP3 player.
But Apple is smart, and while Amazon has tried to take advantage of one of it's weaknesses, we will probably not see the end of Apple's online music dominance anytime soon. Apple has such a huge share of the market, and current, devoted iTunes users will be unlikely to switch to 
another service anytime soon. iPods are also incredibly popular, and since one of the biggest complaints about Apple's DRM is that it doesn't allow playback on anything other than an iPod, this argument doesn't effect very many iTunes users.
another service anytime soon. iPods are also incredibly popular, and since one of the biggest complaints about Apple's DRM is that it doesn't allow playback on anything other than an iPod, this argument doesn't effect very many iTunes users.iTunes will likely be able to weather Amazon's recent development, but it is a sign that there are changes in the distribution of digital music, and that Apple may not be king for ever.
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