Amazon Announces DRM-Free MP3 Store
Story by:
Marc Whitman
We’ve got some big news in the digital music world this morning.
In one of the longest-running rumors in the online music realm, Amazon.com has officially (and finally) announced that it will open a digital music store. The store will include EMI’s entire catalog and 12,000 other record labels, available as MP3s, all without that pesky DRM that everyone’s been arguing about for years.
While eMusic has been in the MP3 game for quite some time, this is significant because it is such a large online player offering the entire catalog of a major label without copy-restrictions. General competition is good, but having more online offerings for music sans restrictions is even better. What remains to be seen is whether the DRM-free model will ultimately help the overall bottom line. It has certainly worked on me (I’m still an eMusic subsrciber and rare user of the iTunes Music Store).
For more details and some exclusive information on timing and pricing, check out Hypebot‘s post on the subject.
From what I understand, Amazon will be offering music free of DRM from only EMI. The other major labels have not signed on yet. EMI has also licensed their catalog to iTunes in DRM free format. So Amazon will have nothing that iTunes does not already have. iTunes will have more actually because of the other labels catalogs (still DRM) and all the podcasts.
Unless there is a huge price gap, which I don’t see happening, then I can’t see a reason why Amazon would pull anyone away from iTunes.
From what I understand, Amazon will be offering music free of DRM from only EMI. The other major labels have not signed on yet. EMI has also licensed their catalog to iTunes in DRM free format. So Amazon will have nothing that iTunes does not already have. iTunes will have more actually because of the other labels catalogs (still DRM) and all the podcasts.
Unless there is a huge price gap, which I don’t see happening, then I can’t see a reason why Amazon would pull anyone away from iTunes.
Hey Jordan, Thanks for reading and noticing the discrepancy.
Actually, we’re both correct, depending on your point of view: DRM. Some people use “rights” and others use “restrictions.”
Either way, I decided to simplifiy it and include the link above. Thanks!
Hey Jordan, Thanks for reading and noticing the discrepancy.
Actually, we’re both correct, depending on your point of view: DRM. Some people use “rights” and others use “restrictions.”
Either way, I decided to simplifiy it and include the link above. Thanks!
DRM is actually Digital Rights Management.
DRM is actually Digital Rights Management.