James Delahunty
12 Feb 2007 8:52
It was reported late last week that EMI, one of the world's "big four" major record companies, is considering releasing a very large portion of its music for download in the MP3 format. Additionally, there would be no "technical restrictions", better known as Digital Rights Management (DRM) on the downloads. The vast majority of all music downloads sold through services like iTunes, contain DRM.
A source familiar with the situation said that EMI is preparing to offer a large amount of its music catalog in the MP3 format through various online retailers, while another source says the company is looking for large advance payments from retailers to offer unprotected downloads. Shawn Fanning's SnoCap is reportedly in talks with EMI over the matter.
An EMI spokesperson did not admit to any deals or confirm that any talks were in progress, but did say that EMI has been experimenting with the MP3 format already. "The results have been positive," the EMI spokeswoman said, adding, "lack of operability between a proliferating range of devices and hardware and the digital platforms for delivering music is more and more becoming an issue for music consumers and EMI has been engaging with our various partners to find a solution."
Source:
Reuters