By Stevie Smith Jan 7, 2008, 15:44 GMT
The gradual non-DRM migration of the world’s leading media companies has taken another notable step forward this week with news that Song BMG is finally making moves to loosen its grip on the contentious copy protection system.
Sony BMG completes the 'big four' as it moves to drop DRM from its music downloads. Credit: Sony BMG.
Existing as the only one of the ‘big four’ music distributors to refuse to back away from Digital Rights Management, Sony BMG (which is the world’s second biggest music company) is to introduce its DRM-free Platinum MusicPass, which will allow customers to download albums without copy protection.
Set to launch on January 15, Platinum MusicPass will arrive as a special gift card service available through U.S. retail stores such as Best Buy and Target, which will then enable online users to access Sony BMG music via a MusicPass Web site – after typing in a card-based identification number.
Once onto the MusicPass site, customers will have access to Sony BMG artists such as Britney Spears and Beyonce, with full digital albums open for download in an MP3 format, but without restrictive DRM protection.
"The introduction of MusicPass is an important part of Sony BMG’s ongoing campaign to bring its artists’ music to fans in new and innovative ways, and to develop compelling new business models," commented Thomas Hesse, Sony BMG president of global digital business & U.S. Sales, in a Reuters report.
With industry opinion suggesting that DRM-free music downloads will help curb the continuing decline of CD albums sales and drive digital download sales, the likes of Apple founder Steve Jobs have recently called for the music industry to abandon its insistence that retailers (such as Apple’s iTunes) enforce DRM.
The world’s other top three music companies, EMI Group, Vivendi Universal, and Warner Music, which agreed to drop DRM only last week, have all said they will sell music online in some capacity without DRM copy protection.
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