Amazon To Sell DRM-Free Music. Who else?

Amazon.com’s upcoming MP3-only store will sell unprotected or DRM-free music, according to a Washington Post report. When this move is realized, it will be one of a few companies that will condemn protected music downloads. iTunes and eMusic, with strong  backing from giant record label EMI are among those who have already started selling DRM-free music. Moreover, there are speculations that Yahoo! Music will  join in this DRM-free campaign soon. Yahoo! Music general manger Ian Rogers said in his statement:

We have long advocated for the end of DRM-encrypted music and predicted earlier this year that half of our catalogue would be DRM-free by the end of the year. We’re talking to all of the major labels about the possibilities but can’t comment on the specifics of the discussions.

What about Microsoft’s Zune? As a strong advocate of DRM, it surely won’t follow soon, the Washington Post report stated. Zune general manager Chris Stephenson has this to say about selling DRM-free music:

DRM will continue to play an important role in the music business, especially with the growth of subscription services and other types of discovery mechanisms. We don’t have any specific announcements on our DRM-free business strategy at this time, but testing new business models is a key to unlocking the future of digital entertainment.

However, DRM-free music comes at a cost. Along with an increased bitrate, DRM-free MP3’s will sell at US $1.29 each compared to the protected ones which only cost  99-cents. Ultimately, it will depend on consumers as to which will succeed. If you were to choose, will you get the DRM-free ones for a higher price or will it be the other way around?

NPD Group, a market research firm has some hints for you. A survey asking respondents where their music is coming from has this to tell:

• iTunes - 70%
• eMusic - 10%
• Napster - 4%
• MSN Music - 3%
• Rhapsody - 3%

The Washington Post report has also some data on a Piracy vs. Legit comparison. MP3 downloads using P2P, which most likely represents the Piracy side, went up from 13.9 million in 2005 to 15 million in 2006. On the other hand, Legit downloads also increased from 7.5 million to 12.6 million.

So, does this give you a clue of where DRM-free music is going in the next few years? iTunes and would-be Amazon users will surely have a lot to say.

This entry was posted on Friday, May 18th, 2007 at 7:00 and is filed under Music, Web News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.