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Amazon's tune: no DRM
05/16/2007 9:52 PM, Reuters
Digital music without
copyright protection gained more momentum on Wednesday as
Amazon.com made it official that it will launch a DRM-free
digital music store this year.
The electronic retailer plans to partner with more than
12,000 record labels to offer millions of songs for paid
download without digital rights management, meaning that the
music can be shared among users and that it will play on any
device.
EMI Group, which recently raised eyebrows in the industry
by signing a DRM-free music deal with Apple Inc.'s iTunes
Store, is the first major record label to sign on with
Amazon.com, making its entire digital catalog available on the
planned download service.
"Amazon.com's deep understanding of consumers and vast
knowledge of music paves the way for a smooth entry into the
digital arena," EMI Group CEO Eric Nicoli said. "Their arrival
in the digital music market will be a big advance in addressing
the lack of interoperability, which has frustrated many music
fans."
The Amazon music download service had been rumored for
several weeks after a published report in the U.K. last month.
The Amazon partnership follows the announcement last month
that EMI would offer its music online DRM-free. The record
label houses such artists as Coldplay, Norah Jones and the
Rolling Stones.
The DRM issue still is a contentious one in the music
industry, though, with other major labels continuing to refuse
to remove copyright protections.
In his company's quarterly earnings conference call last
week, Warner Music Group chairman and CEO Edgar Bronfman Jr.
said that DRM continues to be an "important element" of his
company's business.
Nonetheless, EMI made even more DRM-free waves Wednesday as
it announced more digital deals in Europe.
In France, the label is partnering with online retailer
VirginMega, and EMI announced a slew of deals that will make
its catalog available to more than 20 Internet retailers in
Sweden, Denmark and Norway.
Reuters/Hollywood Reporter
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