AMAZON GOES DRM-FREE

As expected, Amazon.com today announced it will launch a digital music store later this year offering millions of songs in the DRM-free MP3 format from more than 12,000 record labels, with EMI Music’s digital catalog the latest addition to the store.

Every song and album in the Amazon.com digital music store will be available exclusively in the MP3 format without digital rights management (DRM) software. Amazon’s DRM-free MP3s will free customers to play their music on virtually any of their personal devices, from PCs and Macs to iPods and Zunes—and to burn songs to CDs for personal use.

Commented founder/CEO Jeff Bezos: “Our MP3-only strategy means all the music that customers buy on Amazon is always DRM-free and plays on any device. We’re excited to have EMI joining us in this effort and look forward to offering our customers MP3s from amazing artists like Coldplay, Norah Jones and Joss Stone.”

EMI had previously announced an agreement with Apple’s iTunes to sell both DRM-free, higher-quality downloads at $1.29 along with the regular, protected downloads playable only on the iPod for 99 cents apiece.

No word on when the store will launch or whether the other three music groups, Universal, Warner and Sony BMG, will follow suit.

Added EMI CEO Eric Nicoli: “Amazon.com is known around the world for the unique experience it offers music customers through features such as customer reviews and personalized recommendations. They have been an important retail partner of ours, and we are delighted they will be offering consumers EMI’s new premium DRM-free downloads in their new digital music store. We think having a trusted destination like Amazon.com offer a high-quality digital music product that will play across a number of devices gives consumers more options and will be a significant boost for the overall digital music market. Now, if only we could apply this technology to biscuits, muffins and the Yorkie chocolate bar.”