Apple debuts songs online free of copying restrictions

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In the meantime, Apple's iTunes Store will continue to offer songs in the same copy-protected format as today at 99-cents-per-download and encoded at 128 kilobits per second. The iTunes Plus versions are encoded at 256 kbps, which Apple says makes the audio quality on par with original recordings.

Apple also will continue to encode its songs -- including EMI's DRM-free content -- in the AAC audio format, which could force some users to go through an extra step of converting tunes into a version that would be compatible with their players.

Some gadgets don't support AAC, including SanDisk's newest Sansa Connect or Samsung Electronics Co.'s YP-K3, but industry analyst Susan Kevorkian of the IDC market research company expects support for AAC will widen following Apple's move this week.

Amazon.com, by comparison, said it plans to sell songs online later this year in the DRM-free MP3 format -- the popular unrestricted audio standard that is supported by virtually any device, including Apple's best-selling iPod.

The next generation of digital music will be untethered from usage restrictions, Kevorkian predicts. It's something major music labels -- other than just EMI -- will have to do if they want to combat the industry's years long decline of music CD sales, she said.

''They absolutely have to reach the Internet to drive music sales, and part of that is to remove the hurdle that comes with the lack of interoperability,'' Kevorkian said.

Shares of Apple were trading at $115.85 in afternoon trading, up $1.50 from Tuesday's closing price off $114.35.