Are record labels listening? Earlier, my blogging cohort talked about some of the reactions to Steve Jobs' letter on opening up digital music so that you can listen to any songs you buy anywhere you want any number of times you want to.
Now the Wall Street Journal is reporting that EMI Group, publishers of artists like Coldplay and the Beatles, is contemplating selling DRM-free MP3s (though, ironically, the Beatles is one group you still can't buy digitally). According to sources, EMI is trying to discover how much money retailers would be willing to pay in advance in order to gain the right to sell music sans copy protection. If the numbers are to their liking, the company may relent.
It's no surprise that EMI would be the first major label to express interest in selling open MP3s. EMI has already ventured into the world of DRM-less music. In December, the company released copy-protection-free MP3s from artists Norah Jones and Relient K on Yahoo's music store. An EMI spokesperson told the AP that "the results of those experiments were very positive." Here's hoping it becomes more than just an experiment.
It's about damn time. When are the record companies gonna figure this one out? DRM helps NOONE...
here is a funny article about DRM: http://www.howtojumpfences.com/?p=19
word a read at least.