DRM is Dead: Amazon MP3 Adds Sony BMG Content
Sony BMG announced an agreement with Amazon.com to become the fourth and final major label selling its back catalog via the online retailer's MP3 store, effectively heralding the end of digital rights management software in the U.S. market. The move also positions Amazon's digital music store as a legitimate threat to Apple's iTunes storefront, the longtime market leader.
"This is such an exciting day for us and our customers," said Amazon vice president for digital music Bill Carr in an interview with The New York Times. "All four major labels will be part of our service. It means our customers will really have access to all the biggest artists in the world."
Launched in September 2007, Amazon MP3 features over 3.1 million songs (a la carte DRM-free MP3 music downloads) from more than 270,000 artists -- Universal Music Group and EMI Group joined the store at launch, followed in December by Warner Music Group.
Every song and album in the Amazon MP3 music download store is available exclusively in the MP3 format without digital rights management (DRM) software and is encoded at 256 Kbps to deliver high audio quality.
Amazon MP3 customers are free to enjoy their music downloads using any hardware device, including PCs, Macs, iPod, Zune, Zen, iPhone, RAZR and BlackBerry; organize their music using any music management application such as iTunes or Windows Media Player; and burn songs to CDs for personal use.
Beyond the four major labels, the site also features catalogs from over 33,000 independent imprints. While most iTunes downloads are 99 cents and compatible solely with Apple devices, Amazon tracks range from 89 cents to more than a dollar, and may be played on any portable music device. [FierceMobileContent/FierceWireless]
Related articles:
Universal announces DRM-free music trialApple
EMI lift DRM
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