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. According to Amazon, 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. A major corporation (Amazon) convinced the record labels to offer their music with no digital rights protection? Unbelievable! I'm speechless. So while the RIAA continues to sue college kids for downloading DRM-free MP3s off the Internet, the RIAA (supported by record labels) is going to allow DRM-free MP3s to be sold? What's to stop these "legally" downloaded MP3s from then being uploaded onto P2P networks? Perhaps since that is being done already en-masse, the record labels figure "if you can't beat em' join em'".
Amazon's DRM-free MP3s will free customers to play their music on virtually any of their personal devices -- including PCs, Macs, iPods, Zunes, Zens -- and to burn songs to CDs for personal use.
Perhaps the nicest thing about DRM-free MP3s is that there are no restrictions on its personal use. Apple on the other hand with all music sold through iTunes uses the FairPlay system that restricts the use of the downloads. Purchased music can only be moved between five computers and played on an Apple iPod. Amazon's MP3 songs can be played on any MP3 player (including the iPod) as well as burned to a CD, or copied to as many PCs or Macs that you want.
Whether that is enough to knock Apple iTunes off their digital music download throne remains to be seen.
Amazon's DRM-free MP3s will free customers to play their music on virtually any of their personal devices -- including PCs, Macs, iPods, Zunes, Zens -- and to burn songs to CDs for personal use.
Perhaps the nicest thing about DRM-free MP3s is that there are no restrictions on its personal use. Apple on the other hand with all music sold through iTunes uses the FairPlay system that restricts the use of the downloads. Purchased music can only be moved between five computers and played on an Apple iPod. Amazon's MP3 songs can be played on any MP3 player (including the iPod) as well as burned to a CD, or copied to as many PCs or Macs that you want.
Whether that is enough to knock Apple iTunes off their digital music download throne remains to be seen.
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Did you miss that Apple already has plans to sell DRM free songs as well?
http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2007/04/02itunes.html
Apple offers DRM free music (for a few months now) on a large selection of music as well. Isn't Amazon just following Apples initiative?
I stand corrected. Thanks guys. Now that you mention it, I have a vague recollection about Apple doing this. I think I saw the headline but didn't click through to the story.
Wonder how Microsoft will respond to this considering they've invested so heavily into their own DRM protection. I guess we'll still see a combination of DRM and DRM-free content for the foreseeable future.
Just glad to see some major digital distributors (Apple & Amazon) are offering DRM-free content.
It is a major disruption for sure, and a welcome one. AllofMP3.com offered the best service (even if it was slightly illegal) hopefully reasonable pricing will follow this push to eliminate DRM.
"Apple offers DRM free music (for a few months now) on a large selection of music as well. Isn't Amazon just following Apples initiative?" - LOL