Spinning off an Associated Press report saying now Yahoo is preparing a non-DRM music store a la Amazon’s, Jacqui Cheng in Ars Technica ruminates on the meaning of DRM-free music:

If 2007 marked the death of music DRM, such a venture through Yahoo could make 2008 the year that DRM-free music actually becomes widely available. Not only that, but all music stores offering DRM-free music will be forced to come up with new ways to appeal to customers. Exclusive content and bundles are something that iTunes already offers, but the competition will surely need to step up.

For example, Yahoo (and others) could offer songs at higher bit-rates than Amazon and the rest of the competition (Amazon currently offers songs at 256kbps), or an entirely lossless format. It could offer ogg support in order to really set the music free. Or, better yet, offer downloads in a variety of formats so that the user can choose whatever he or she wants. AllOfMP3 (technical legalities aside) lets users choose both bitrates and codecs on the fly—how cool would that be in a legit music store?

However, in the AP story, Yahoo says it’s not the case:

Carrie Davis, a spokeswoman for Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Yahoo, said the company has often said it wants to offer music without copy protections and the subject has been part of its ongoing talks with record labels.

But Davis denied that discussions with record labels on the matter have stepped up in recent weeks or that anything is imminent.