World's largest music retailer ditches DRM, not censorship
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| DRM isn't yet dead in the music business, but it has a nasty, hacking cough.
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http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070821-worlds-largest-music-retailer-ditches-drm-not-censorship.html
Related:
Music DRM in critical condition: Universal tests DRM free music sales
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| Universal Music Group has announced that the company is going to test selling
| DRM-free music to consumers in order to assess the market.
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6939807.stm
AmieStreet.com Announces Series A Financing Led By Amazon.com
,----[ Quote ]
| Anyone can upload their music to AmieStreet.com, and all songs are
| downloadable in DRM-free mp3 format.
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http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/prnewswire/NYM01106082007-1.htm
Losses widen at Warner
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| Big-selling albums by Linkin Park and the White Stripes were not enough to
| prevent widening losses at Warner Music, which suffered a drop in income as
| fans shifted from compact discs to digital downloads.
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http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2143551,00.html
EMI pays price for not moving with the times
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| In regards to EMI's recent joint venture with iTunes which offers DRM-free
| downloads the group found that "early revenue indications for this initiative
| are encouraging," according to breitbart.com.
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http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=41511
EMI has DRM free sales boom
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| Since EMI ditched the DRM on iTunes it has seen sales of Pink Floyd's Dark
| Side of the Moon increase by between 272 and 350 percent.
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http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=40443
Music industry attacks Sunday newspaper's free Prince CD
.----[ Quote ]
| The eagerly awaited new album by Prince is being launched as a free
| CD with a national Sunday newspaper in a move that has drawn
| widespread criticism from music retailers.
|
| The Mail on Sunday revealed yesterday that the 10-track Planet
| Earth CD will be available with an "imminent" edition, making it
| the first place in the world to get the album. Planet Earth will go
| on sale on July 24.
|
| "It's all about giving music for the masses and he believes in
| spreading the music he produces to as many people as possible,"
| said Mail on Sunday managing director Stephen Miron. "This is the
| biggest innovation in newspaper promotions in recent times."
|
| The paper, which sells more than 2m copies a week, will be ramping
| up its print run in anticipation of a huge spike in circulation but
| would not reveal how much the deal with Prince would cost.
|
| One music store executive described the plan as "madness" while
| others said it was a huge insult to an industry battling fierce
| competition from supermarkets and online stores. Prince's label has
| cut its ties with the album in the UK to try to appease music
| stores.
|
| The Entertainment Retailers Association said the giveaway "beggars
| belief". "It would be an insult to all those record stores who have
| supported Prince throughout his career," ERA co-chairman Paul Quirk
| told a music conference. "It would be yet another example of the
| damaging covermount culture which is destroying any perception of
| value around recorded music.
|
| "The Artist Formerly Known as Prince should know that with
| behaviour like this he will soon be the Artist Formerly Available
| in Record Stores. And I say that to all the other artists who may
| be tempted to dally with the Mail on Sunday."
|
| High street music giant HMV was similarly scathing about the plans.
| Speaking before rumours of a giveaway were confirmed, HMV chief
| executive Simon Fox said: "I think it would be absolutely nuts. I
| can't believe the music industry would do it to itself. I simply
| can't believe it would happen; it would be absolute madness."
|
| Prince, whose Purple Rain sold more than 11m copies, also plans to
| give away a free copy of his latest album with tickets for his
| forthcoming concerts in London. The singer had signed a global deal
| for the promotion and distribution of Planet Earth in partnership
| with Columbia Records, a division of music company Sony BMG. A
| spokesman for the group said last night that the UK arm of Sony BMG
| had withdrawn from Prince's global deal and would not distribute
| the album to UK stores.
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http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2114557,00.html
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