Caveat emptor.

Silence may be golden, but now, thanks to iTunes, it can be downloaded for a mere 99 cents.

Among the hundreds of thousands of downloadable songs for sale at Apple Computer’s online music store are at least nine tracks of silence, a fact that has prompted quite a bit of discussion. The chatter over the inaudible music tracks began this week at Mac enthusiast site As The Apple Turns.

As the site notes, Apple treats the silent songs just like their more musical counterparts. The silent tracks sell for the same 99 cents as other songs, feature free 30-second “previews” and are all wrapped in Apple’s usual digital-rights management software to prevent unauthorized copying.

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For those looking for the best value, Schaeffer offers nearly two minutes of silence, almost twice as much as any of the other tracks.