I read some good news related to DRM and music releases on the internet last week.
Universal is going to start selling DRM-free music “as a test to see how it goes”. According to this Wired article this change of course is a move to try and take some power away from the mighty Apples iTunes online store.
Whatever it is, it’s good for the customer, and I’m hoping this is a staying trend.
Another Wired news post is claiming the same thing, and has some more details. It’s funny to see that they finally realised what a lot have been claiming before. That treating the customer like a criminal by putting DRM protection on what they buy from you is not a good idea.
Since they won’t be putting the tunes up on iTunes, Google’s new gBox is one of the services that they will be using to pimp their mp3s. It’s interesting to see Google join the battle, and I’m wondering if they will be able to kick ass like usual on this front as well. gBox will be offering be offering DRM-free and version with DRM at the same price. I don’t see why you’d buy the ones with DRM though.
But then again, it’s more likely I’ll go shopping at Warp’s Bleep.com though, which has been offering DRM-free 320kbps mp3s from the start. Oh, and the music is better over there too. Have a peek.