I really enjoy reading CA. This site has provided me with a lot of enjoyment and guidance over the last few years. However...
...this is completely incorrect. Many tracks were offered DRM-free beginning in 2007; the entire iTMS music store went DRM-free beginning in 2009.
It has been impossible, for many years now, to purchase a music file that is somehow "locked" to iTunes.
iTunes Store - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
AAC isn't quite as widely supported as mp3, but you can play it nearly anywhere. Most Android media software supports it, and all the main PC/Mac media players support it. I hope that the article can be corrected to reflect this fact.
I still think it's a good article and the article's main point still stands -- Spotify really has begin to take over "hearts and minds." Thank you for all of your hard work and great articles.