Advocates argue DRM is necessary for copyright holders to prevent unauthorized duplication of their work to ensure continued revenue streams. Apple will sell the record company’s songs online without copy protection software. You can now download songs without the copying restrictions once imposed by labels.

We are going to give iTunes customers a choice—the current versions of our songs for the same 99 cent price, or new DRM-free versions of the same songs with even higher audio quality and the security of interoperability for just 30 cents more,” said Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple.

Executives at several rival record companies said they had expected EMI to drop DRM but questioned whether EMI had done sufficient market research to justify the move.

“It’s problematic,” said one executive. “EMI haven’t tested it enough so they don’t know what the market reaction is going to be to open MP3s.”Check out Silicon Valley Lawyer Chris Castle’s article ‘Why not Sell MP3’s’

Check out the webcast of the presentation between Steve Jobs and Eric Nicoli.