Amazon Planning DRM-free music store

[Jimmy 2004]

Online retailer Amazon.com could be about to launch a DRM free music store next month providing that it can reach an agreement with the music industry. According to The Times, Amazon has been approaching major music companies in the last fortnight with ambitions to provide unprotected music downloads in order to compete with Apple’s iTunes store. Although Amazon has previously been unsuccessful in such requests for the last 18 months, Apple’s recent deal with EMI to provide music without any digital rights management protection has reignited Amazon’s hopes. EMI and the smaller independent labels are expected to be the first to allow Amazon to sell their music (if they are successful), whilst record labels such as Sony BMG, Universal and Warner generally seem reluctant to allow their music to be distributed online without DRM.

Source: TimesOnline

[WarEagleAU]

This should have been something done a long time ago. Not to throw this on this thread, Im happy Amazon is thinking of getting in the music biz, but it just seems this should have been the goal from the get go. Getting a song (paying for it) for each device was such a hassle.


I wonder how much music singers and stars make from the internet pay downloadable songs?

[Jimmy 2004]

Originally Posted by WarEagleAU

I wonder how much music singers and stars make from the internet pay downloadable songs?

More importantly, do you think that DRM-free music downloads would actually lead to more music being shared? It's not as though it's hard to find at the moment - just because it's DRM-free doesn't mean that people are going to share more music. The type of people that illegally download music will just wait for one person to buy the CD and rip to their disk and then share it - the only effect being DRM free will have is to attract people who shared music because they hated DRM.