Amazon to launch DRM-free online music store
Amazon has announced that it is to launch its own digital music store later this year, comprising millions of songs and all free from any DRM copy protection.
Thanks to licensing from EMI, who has already done a deal with Apple, Amazon will now have access to their music catalogue. Oh yes, 7digital has got a piece of the EMI pie too.
“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’s founder and CEO.
So far, EMI are the only major label to go public with DRM-free music, though other labels including Warner and Universal are said to be testing it.
Great news if you don’t want to use iTunes and want a piece of EMI’s catalogue, though there’s no specific news on how much tracks or albums will cost, and whether downloads will be available outside the US. Simply because there’s no DRM, it doesn’t mean that all the music will be available in the UK, due to (arcane?) licensing constraints.
