As reported on Engadget, Apple and EMI today announced their plans to offer music files without DRM protection on the iTunes Store. Although the new files will cost 30 cents more ($1.29), they will come at a much higher bitrate (256kbps) and will no longer have copyright protection. PSP-Vault intelligently points out that these unprotected files should work in PSP systems, as most firmware revisions allow the playback of AAC audio files.
For now, the option to purchase unprotected files will only apply to artists under the EMI label. Wikipedia lists many of the artists signed to the record giant. While it'll be great to have fully unrestricted access to music in the future, this is a great first step for PSP owners that want to purchase their music legally from a service other than Sony's failing Connect store.