emi

Episode 586: We h8t flash drives

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DRM deathwatch, continued: Universal

Universal Music Group, the largest of the four big music labels, has become the second major to offer DRM-free MP3 downloads.

EMI was first to take the plunge, selling DRM-free files first on Apple's iTunes (in the AAC audio format) and later offering MP3s through a variety of other services via a deal with MediaNet.

Unlike EMI, the Universal deal is only a five-month trial, and the company hasn't announced any such deal with Apple--not surprising, given the two companies' recent history. In fact, nobody should see this as an act of kindness on Universal's part. Rather, … Read more

DRM deathwatch

[This entry has been revised: I didn't read the MediaNet release carefully enough...they are offering DRM-less MP3s, not WMA files. Apologies to anybody whom I misled. My bad.]

Back in May, EMI--one of the big four record labels--agreed to sell its songs through Apple's iTunes without digital rights management (DRM) protection.

Before this move, iTunes and the iPod were technically linked: if you bought a song from iTunes, you could only play it on an iPod (unless you burned it to CD then re-ripped it into an unprotected format). Offering DRM-less downloads severed this link, allowing … Read more

Talking Head opens ears on music's future

SAN FRANCISCO--If there's one business where the intersection of new technology and old is creating confusion, I can't think of a bigger muddle than the recording industry.

So it is that I had a chance to listen to an interesting discussion on the future of the music business here at the wrap-up day of the iMeme conference organized by Fortune magazine.

Jerry Harrison, who used to play with the Talking Heads (and is now chairman of iLike) offered a provocative and entirely insightful comment about where things likely may be heading.

Nowadays our choices are still limited because … Read more

Universal vs. Apple?

According to reports in the Wall Street Journal (subscription required) and New York Times, Universal is pressing for new terms as it renews its contract with Apple. Until the contract negotiations are worked out, Universal will offer songs "at will" through the service, meaning it can yank them at any time if they don't come to an agreement.

Universal is the largest record label in the world, accounting for about 26% of all recorded music sales (according to the company). It has also been, along with Sony BMG, one of the most aggressive about protecting its business … Read more

EMI licenses DRM-free catalog to PassAlong Networks

The U.K.-based EMI Group continues its campaign to provide its digital music library free of DRM restrictions: it just announced that it has licensed the entire catalog to PassAlong Networks, which operates the StoreBlocks music retail technology used in online stores like F.Y.E. and BreakthruRadio.

The songs will be sold in MP3 format at a 320 kilobit rate--more than typical digital music bitrates of 128 to 192kb, and more than the 256kb premium songs offered by Apple's iTunes Store--but pricing has not yet been determined.

In April, EMI announced in conjunction with Apple that it … Read more

Apple offers a little love with its DRM-free upgrades

According to CNET's own experiments, the iTunes Plus feature that launched Wednesday and allows you to upgrade previously purchased EMI song files to the DRM-free versions appears to have a neat side effect.

The upgrade, which costs 30 cents per song or $3.00 per album, seems to be based on iTunes account purchase history, not whether the song file resides in your iTunes library.

Figure out the perk, yet?

It means that those of us who have lost a previously purchased iTunes song file due to a corrupted or lost laptop, now have a chance to get it … Read more

iTunes goes DRM-free with EMI

Apple's iTunes store began selling DRM-free songs from EMI on Wednesday.

DRM (digital rights management) software prevents owners from copying or freely using a digital file across multiple devices.

As expected, all the songs from music label EMI that are sold on iTunes are now available in DRM-free versions. Shoppers have the option to purchase either a 256kbps AAC-encoded DRM-free song for $1.29 via iTunes Plus, or the usual 128kbps AAC-encoded DRM-version for 99 cents.

"We expect more than half of the songs on iTunes will be offered in iTunes Plus versions by the end of this … Read more

News roundup: StumbleUpon, Last.fm, Xbox 360 chat

StumbleUpon/eBay talks heat up. The Wall Street Journal is reporting (registration required) that a deal between eBay and StumbleUpon to acquire the social networking and content recommendation service is getting closer. No agreement has been made on price, but the rumored amount brings it somewhere near $75 million dollars. If acquired, StumbleUpon's content preference algorithms could be employed on eBay's auction listings to give eBay users a new way to get recommendations on things they might want to buy. ( CNET News.com Blog)

Last.fm launching video service. As reported by the Register in March, Last.fm … Read more