This morning I received my official email announcement from Apple about iTunes’ latest upgrade: DRM free music and videos from EMI artists. This upgrade was released through OSX’s Software Update or direct download a couple days ago as we discussed on our most recent iBAM TalkCast. I think this is a great step forward in the DRM battles of late and am one that will most assuredly go for the extra cents to get the DRM free versions when possible. Here’s a copy of the email just in case you didn’t see it:

Now you can download music and videos from EMI that are free of DRM rules and restrictions. With iTunes Plus, you can burn the music you download from iTunes to as many CDs as you need, transfer it to as many computers (Mac or PC) as you want, or sync it to as many devices as you like. And because it’s encoded in 256 kbps AAC, your iTunes Plus music is virtually indistinguishable from the original recording. Hear it for yourself — you can preview all iTunes Plus songs before purchasing.

iTunes Plus music is available now for many EMI artists, such as Paul McCartney, the Rolling Stones, Norah Jones, Coldplay, and many more. DRM-free EMI music videos are still $1.99 and music tracks are $1.29.

Even better yet, you can also upgrade existing EMI songs in your iTunes collection for just $.30 per song.

So… Like I said, I think this is a good step in the right direction and who knows, maybe we’ll see everything DRM free someday soon? here’s to hoping!