|
Site to launch download store
14/02/2008 14:22 - (SA)
London - Online retailer Play.com is to
launch a new UK download store called PlayDigital, offering
music from EMI and independent labels as MP3 tracks which could
be played on all digital devices including iPods.
The music industry had relied on digital rights management
(DRM) as the cornerstone in its fight against illegal
downloading but the labels are now offering tracks without the
restrictive protection in an effort to increase digital sales.
PlayDigital will sell tracks and albums in the DRM-free MP3
format. Apple's iTunes also sells EMI music at a higher price
without DRM, but this is in the unprotected AAC format which
plays on many digital devices but not all.
Online retailer Amazon has signed all four major music
groups - Universal, Sony BMG, Warner Music Group and EMI - but
it has yet to set a date for rolling this out in the UK.
Play.com describes itself as Britain's third most visited
online retailer with over seven million customers.
"What this shows is that new entrants into the digital music
space are banking that digital rights management is not going to
be around," Jupiter Research analyst Mark Mulligan told Reuters on Wednesday.
"This move by Play.com to be DRM-free illustrates the
trend."
Wendy Snowdon, the head of PlayDigital, told Reuters they
had avoided DRM because they believed the tide was turning
against it.
"We believe DRM-free digital music is the way that digital
music should have always been available because ... we think it
is natural to the customer and what the customer wants."
- Reuters
|
News
