Andre Yoskowitz
23 Apr 2007 22:20
Rumors have been swirling for weeks that internet giant, Amazon will be the next major name to enter the world of unprotected music sales.
Amazon hopes to open the MP3 download store in May and many analysts see the retailer being the only company that can truly compete with iTunes.
According to a recent report in the UK's Times Online, Amazon has approached "all the music majors in the past fortnight" in hopes to launch its store by May. Amazon hopes to launch by May because that is when iTunes will begin selling DRM-free music from EMI and Amazon would like to launch with DRM-free music from EMI as well in order to compete.
Although Amazon's heart is in the right place, they will have a tough time competing with Apple. Apple has begun renegotiating with the Big Four and industry executives have stated that Apple will have the upper hand in pressing for DRM-free music due to their immense market share. Although the labels keep a strict facade about DRM, industry sources have noted that the rest of the Big Four following in EMI's footsteps is just "a matter of time."
Source:
Arstechnica