Crossposted from https://lemmy.world/post/25939068
iTunes sells drm-free music downloads. The still do, if you go to the iTunes Store and not the Apple Music streaming surface.
There are better options out there though, like BandCamp.
Bandcamp only works if the band originated there. Most labels don’t sell anything through bandcamp. If a label doesn’t release digital lossless for me to buy it’s getting downloaded on Soulseek.
256kbps AAC is still proprietary, but you can convert it to an MP3 with something like dBPowerAmp
Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) is patented and requires a license for legal use.