Music giant EMI is to offer its entire music catalogue for download without copy protection, allowing consumers to transfer songs between digital players.
Under the deal announced with Apple, EMI will make its entire digital catalogue available at a much higher sound quality than before and without the "digital rights management" (DRM) software used to combat piracy.
As well preventing piracy, DRM technology restricts how people can copy the music they legally buy from online stores, including the transfer of songs from computers to MP3 players and mobile phones.
EMI, the world's third-biggest music group, said that the decision had been made in response to consumer demand for high quality digital music that can be used across all music players.
