Following Warner Music Group's late December announcement [1] that it will begin selling DRM-free MP3 downloads via Amazon.com, Sony BMG stands alone as the sole major label still clinging to digital rights management protections. In an e-mail to staffers, WMG head Edgar Bronfman Jr. wrote "We have concluded that both the development and growth of the online store environment are being hampered by the handcuffs which today's inflexible, non-interoperable copy-protection puts on both retailers and consumers…By providing an immediate interoperable solution to retail partners who are committed to working with us to deliver new and more robust music-based experiences, we'll encourage more consumption of existing products while introducing consumers to new and better ones." Once Sony BMG inevitably bows to the pressure and DRM becomes as irrelevant as R.E.M., Apple's stranglehold over the digital music marketplace will face its first serious threats--expect a price war with Amazon as well as increased competition from rival service providers like eMusic and RealNetworks.
Links:
[1] http://www.fiercewireless.com/press-releases/amazon-mp3-adds-music-audio-downloads-warner-music-group