PA Universal Music GroupSony Corp's 6758

iTunes will offer all 10 million songs free of digitalrights management by the end of the quarter, Schiller said. The DRM-free songs will be sold as higher-quality256-kilobyte-per-second AAC encoding for better audio quality.Most DRM-free songs are sold in the more popular MP3 format. Jobs said in a statement that the company was "thrilled" toreach the deals with Vivendi's (VIV.PA) Universal Music Group,Sony Corp's (6758.T) Sony BMG, Warner Music Group (WMG.N), EMIand thousands of independent labels. In exchange, the labels have convinced iTunes to sell songsat variable prices.

Currently, iTunes sells all individualsongs at 99 cents regardless of their popularity or date ofrelease, unlike most other retail outlets. The labels hope to increase profitability from iTunes byselling the most popular hit tunes at the highest-tier prices.Traditionally, labels make most of their profits from a smallnumber of big hits. Apple's insistence on flat-pricing hadwreaked havoc on that model and upset senior music executiveswho felt the technology company had become too powerful. Apple said iPhone 3G users would also now be able to buysongs while on the go, over the air through its popular AppStore.

Prices will be the same as those for songs bought viathe computer. Songs purchased on an iPhone will automatically sync tousers' computers the next time they sync their phones, thecompany said. (Reporting by Yinka Adegoke, editing by Matthew Lewis and LisaVon Ahn) Stocks Media. Entertainment Technology Music MediaApple shares slid 0.7 percent, lagging by far the Nasdaq's 1.7 percent gain, reflecting frustration over the lack of news from the trade conference that had previously introduced the iPhone to the world."There were some innovative products, but no true blockbusters," said Robert Francello, head of equity trading for Apex Capital hedge fund in San Francisco. "People were bullish going into it, and now they're kind of taking money offthe table."Apple said its iTunes music store, which has sold 6 billion songs thus far, will offer its 10-million-song library free of digital rights management or copy-protection by the end of the quarter, for between 69 cents and $1.29 a song.Songs will also be available straight to iPhones over the air, instead of through a computer.The company decided not use Macworld to launch any major new product, as it had in past years, when it introduced such industry-changing devices as the iPhone.In years past, the company's Macworld product launches had produced so much buzz that they managed to overshadow events at the far larger Consumer Electronics Show. The 2009 CES show kicks off this week in Las Vegas.Tuesday's event produced few surprises.

Apple announced a $2,799 17-inch laptop that is the company's lightest and slimmest ever, as well as tweaks to software for home movies and photographs.The event culminated with singer Tony Bennett crooning "The Best is Yet to Come" and "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" in a farewell of sorts to Apple, which will no longer attend the cultural event thronged annually by Mac-faithful.Jobs, a fixture at past events, was nowhere in sight, despite some hopes for a cameo. Last month, the company said its chief executive and salesman extraordinaire would not deliver the Macworld address. That raised fresh concerns about the cancer survivor's health and signaled to many Apple-watchers that the company had no plans to launch a major product at Macworld.(Writing by Edwin Chan, reporting by Gabriel Madway, David Lawsky, Yinka Adegoke and Deepa Seetharaman, editing by Gerald E McCormick) Entertainment Technology Music Media. Lawmakers and Experts to Examine Energy Options for Obama and Congress, onTuesday, January 13, 2009, From 8:30 - 10:00 A.M., at The National Press Club,in Washington, D.C.Senator Sessions, Congressman Gordon, Daniel Yergin Among Panelists to WeighNational Energy Policy and Climate Change PrioritiesWASHINGTON, Jan.