Apple today announced that they would be removing the digital copy protection for eight million songs in the iTunes Music Store. As the store contains approximately 10 million songs, the vast majority of the music is now available without copy protection. This mirrors the design of the Amazon.com music store which also sells major label music DRM-free.

This is a significant move because with iTunes added weight behind it, almost all digital music is now being sold without any copy protection. Of course, some may point out that almost all CDs sell without copy protection and have for some time, so digital music has finally embraced the same rights as CDs have offered for decades.

Of note, is that Steve Jobs - the CEO and co-founder of Apple - came out strongly against copy-protection for music back in 2007.