7digital to distribute Warner MP3s across Europe

Digital media delivery firm 7digital announced an agreement with Warner Music Group to sell DRM-free Warner MP3 downloads to customers in the U.K., Ireland, Spain, France and Germany, becoming the first European music retailer to offer Warner content without digital rights restrictions. 7digital and Warner said they will also collaborate on a range of digital music products such as value-added album bundles containing additional content as well as dedicated artist and label pages which Warner acts and execs may edit remotely. "This deal will offer music fans a new level of flexibility in their use of tracks from our world-renowned artists," said Warner Music Europe president John Reid in a prepared statement. "We believe that providing consumers with this assurance of interoperability will encourage sales of music downloads and ultimately help the development of new digital music experiences." 7digital currently boasts a catalog spanning 3.5 million tracks and a customer base of 1.2 million. It said its DRM-free MP3s outsell rival digital formats like WMA and AAC almost four-to-one.

For more on the 7digital/WMG deal:
- read this release

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