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Apple Inc. is now selling the vast majority of its digital songs without copy-protection software.

The maker of the iPod also announced Tuesday a deal to roll out variable pricing on songs from the iTunes Music Store, with prices between $0.76 and $1.29 (U.S.).

Apple announced the changes at the Macworld Expo trade show in San Francisco Tuesday.

• Are you more likely to buy music from iTunes now that Apple has done away with copyright protection? Take our poll at globetechnology.com

Copy-protection software, also known as digital-rights management or DRM, has proved a controversial topic with music fans and record labels alike. Eight million of iTunes's 10 million songs will be available without DRM.

The software was designed to prevent fans from illegally sharing digital downloads on file-sharing services. But it also prevented many fans from moving their own songs between devices and became increasingly unpopular.

Apple's founder, Steve Jobs, publicly called on major record labels to drop DRM in February, 2007.

In exchange, labels have been asking that iTunes agree to sell songs at variable prices. Currently, iTunes sells all individual songs at 99 cents regardless of their popularity or date of release, unlike most other retail outlets.

Apple also announced details to allow iPhone 3G and iPod Touch Wifi users to buy songs while on the go, over the air through its popular App Store.

Missing master pitchman Steve Jobs and facing subdued expectations during its final appearance at the Macworld trade show, Apple also rolled out upgrades to its home movie and photo software.

The iTunes music store will also be able to sell music over the air to its iPhone and will offer music without copyright protection, people familiar with Apple's plans said.

In years past, the company's Macworld product launches produced so much buzz they managed to overshadow events at the far larger Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The 2009 CES show kicks off this week.

Last month, the company said Mr. Jobs, its chief executive and salesman extraordinaire, would not deliver the Macworld address. That raised fresh concerns about the cancer survivor's health and signalled to many Apple-watchers that the company had no plans to launch a major product at Macworld.

But Mr. Jobs's announcement Monday that a hormone imbalance – not a recurrence of cancer – is responsible for his noticeable weight loss, managed to allay some investor fears and prompt broker upgrades, though other questions about the company's future persist.

After this year's gathering, Apple is withdrawing from Macworld, an event owned by IDG World Expo that in years past had been populated by Apple faithful but will now continue on without the tech giant.