EMI has announced its intention to offer DRM-free downloads of its “entire digital repertoire” via the Apple iTunes Music Store.

EMI is one of the “big four,” along with Sony BMG, Universal, and Warner, though they are the smallest by marketshare of that crowd (Universal: 31.71%; Sony/BMG: 25.61%; Warner: 15%; EMI: 9.55%, via WP). We’re betting this gets interesting.

(More at BoingBoing, where Cory Doctorow is so happy he may have a seizure. The really odd part is that they’ll still sell the DRM versions, which are lower quality, for less money. Gee, which would you have? DRM’d crappy files for $X, or DRM-free high-quality files for 130% of X? It’s a no-brainer.)

More followup: Techdirt has more details: the higher-quality files will be 256Kbit AAC, which is both good and bad. AAC is undeniably a better algorithm than MP3, but so far it plays pretty much only on Apple equipment (it’s an adopted standard, though, not something Apple has locked up — other folks can use it if they want. (It’s the DRM, not the format, that Apple has refused to license in the past (HDANCN?).)). Techdirt also brings up something we didn’t catch: the new tracks are priced higher, which means Jobs backed off his “one price” mantra — or, rather, traded it for no-DRM. Furthermore, this “charge a premium for a more flexible offering” puts iTMS at odds with the usual RIAA play of “charge more for less” (ringtones still cost more than online tracks, for example). Guess who we think will win?