Amazon to Sell DRM-Free MP3s From 12,000 Record Labels
Maybe record labels are finally starting to get it. Well, they have to start getting it pretty soon, because there’s nothing like the prospect of extinction to get those innovation-juices flowing.
The latest indication that record labels are starting to meet the demands of today’s marketplace is Amazon’s announcement that it is launching a digital music store later this year that will sell millions of songs from more than 12,000 record labels, all DRM-free.
DRM, or Digital Rights Management, refers to technology that restricts the use of purchased digital content. In English that means that when you purchase an MP3 with DRM attached to it, you don’t actually own the music, you just have some right to use it. So DRM could restrict you from burning an MP3 that you purchased to CD, for example, or downloading it more than once.
So going DRM-free lifts all of these restrictions, including one that annoys many music lovers: restricting playback to one type of music device. Apple, a company that is often accused of imposing too many restrictions on its users, opened the door to a new era of DRM-free digital content when CEO Steve Jobs issued a passionate and intelligent analysis called “Thoughts on Music” back in February.
The key, of course, is getting major record labels to agree to DRM-free and it looks like that is finally beginning to happen. EMI, for one, is willing to sell DRM-free music at a “premium price” of $1.29 per song versus the standard $.99 that iTunes songs usually go for. The higher pricing, in my view, is somewhat irrelevant as prices will be adjusted to meet market demand. EMI is also signed on with Amazon’s new venture.
David Card notes that Amazon is in a solid position to compete with major digital music stores: “Amazon’s a master of upselling, and has zero customer acquisition costs. It should do just as well as any other store, likely better.” And hypebot notes “exclusively” that while it was announced that the new Amazon store is slated to launch later this year, that Amazon is pushing to get it rolled as early as this summer.
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