Today, EMI – one of the world’s largest record labels and home to mega-artists like Coldplay, Pink Floyd, Lenny Kravitz and Keith Urban — announced it would make DRM-free music downloads available through iTunes.

Online music makes up only about a five to ten percent of the music market but has the potential to grow un-checked if not for DRM. In the face of a record breaking and seemingly unstoppable slump in physical music sales this is a very wise, calculated risk. In a deal between the two media giants, iTunes will have higher quality, DRM-free tracks from EMI artists (excluding The Beatles) on offer for $1.29, 1.29 euros or 99 pence. EMI albums sold on iTunes will automatically be sold without the software and at the higher sound quality for the same price.

What is DRM you might ask? DRM (Digital Rights Management) is the umbrella term that refers to any technologies used by publishers or copyright owners to control access to, and usage of digital data; in this case music. It is also used to restrict which devices you can use the music you have purchased on; or how many different devices you can transfer it to. The music you have bought, either through legal digital downloads or ripped from purchased CDs to MP3, WMA or MP4 would, in some cases, restrict the number of devices you could store that track on to five. The initial transfer is one, to your MP3 player or iPod is two and your partner’s player that’s three. Then say a year later you get a new computer that’s four and a new player for you that’s five. Then you buy it all over again. Doesn’t take long for it to add up and that equals serious restrictions to your consumer rights.

DRM is irritating and can be a security risk on your computer when a big company runs amok. As proved when Sony BMG began imbedding all music CD’s with a flawed computer program that left the buyers computer with serious security holes, leaving users open to hacking and virus attacks. DRM in that case created privacy and consumer protection problems and left music lovers everywhere feeling angry and exposed and sparked a class action lawsuit costing Sony BMG millions.

EMI Chief Executive Eric Nicoli and Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs were in London on Monday to make the announcement. Mr. Nicoli said, “We believe that offering consumers the opportunity to buy higher quality tracks and listen to them on the device or platform of their choice will boost sales of digital music”. With digital music downloads set to explode and the use of personal audio players growing exponentially it is a limited risk for EMI.

This deal follows calls earlier this year by Jobs for the world’s largest record companies, including EMI, to start selling songs without copy protection. And it now seems likely that the rest of the industry will have to follow suit.