14 DAY TRIAL // It looks like the DRM-free music revolution is moving into phase two. A month after Apple and EMI got the ball rolling, Amazon is joining the party. The company will be launching its own DRM-free store, later this year, with millions of songs free of limiting technology that dictates what and where users can enjoy their music.
The Seattle based company has obtained the rights to sell music from EMI artists, which include Coldplay, Norah Jones, Joss Stone and Pink Floyd. The move is a natural continuation of what EMI started with Apple and promises to be one of the best moves to combat the decline in sales of CDs.
While both Apple and Amazon will be offering DRM-free content, there are some differences in the offerings. Firstly, music bought from Amazon will be in the MP3 format, meaning that it will play in any conceivable device, while music from Apple will be in the AAC format that has yet to be adopted as a format by manufacturers of some players. Secondly, while Apple will be offering double the sound quality for these new tracks and at a slightly more expensive price, Amazon has made no such announcement. "Our MP3-only strategy means all the music that customers buy on Amazon is always DRM-free and plays on any device," said Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com founder and CEO.
While the Amazon announcement is good news for Apple and Steve Jobs, who has been pushing for DRM-free music for some time now, it spells trouble for the other labels. Both Warner Music Group and Vivendi's Universal Music are currently still testing DRM free music, as they have been doing for some time. Neither of them is happy about EMI's move and the labels have criticized it extensively. However, with Amazon joining the party, there is no stopping it now? the gates have opened and it will be impossible for the remaining labels to close them. Their only choice is to start offering their content for DRM-free selling, or, in failing to do so, be perceived as both backward and trying to stifle the freedom of the customer.