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December 27, 2007

Amazon Adds Warner Music to DRM-Free Roster

Erick Schonfeld

24 comments »

amazonmp3-logo.pngThe DRM-free music movement just gained a new convert from one of the major labels. Warner Music Group is now selling songs from its digital catalog (Led Zeppelin, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Green Day) on Amazon’s DRM-free digital music store, joining EMI, Universal Music Group, and about 33,000 independent labels. That brings Amazon’s total digital music catalog up to 2.9 million songs. Apple’s iTunes, in contrast, sells more than 6 million tracks, but offers DRM-free songs only from EMI.

By going with Amazon first on DRM-free tunes, Warner Music is snubbing Apple much like Universal Music Group did earlier in the year. The music labels don’t like the power Apple has gained over them and seem to be supporting Amazon and other digital distribution outlets in an attempt to gain the upper hand once again. Amazon allows variable pricing (Apple does not), although most tracks sell for $0.89 to $0.99. And Apple has had to follow Amazon on the pricing of DRM-free tracks. When it launched with EMI last April, Apple tried to price the tracks at a 30 percent premium to its copyright-protected music, trying to justify the move by offering higher-fidelity files than regular MP3s. The strange pricing left consumers scratching their heads, and once Amazon introduced the same tracks without DRM in high-bitrate MP3 form, Apple had to match the price.

As DRM-free music, which does not come with all the annoying and ineffectual restrictions of copyright-protected tunes, becomes more popular, you can expect the labels to use their acquiescence as a bargaining chip with Apple. The annual MacWorld conference later this month would be an ideal time for Apple to announce more DRM-free partners, but you don’t hear a lot about that in the Apple rumor mill.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, December 27th, 2007 at 8:11 am and is filed under Company & Product Profiles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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Comments

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  1. Daniel Thomaser

    December 27th, 2007 at 8:22 am

    DRM is dead

    finally

  2. Brad Jashinsky

    December 27th, 2007 at 8:41 am

    Erick, in this sentence: “By going with Amazon first on DRM-free tunes, EMI is snubbing Apple much like Universal Music Group did earlier in the year. ” do you mean Warner instead of EMI or am I just confused with EMI actually signing with Amazon before Apple (I thought it was the other way around)?

    Amazon has really gained traction quickly with their music store as my sister, still in high school, asked for an Amazon gift certificate so she could buy music instead of an Apple iTunes card like she normally does.

  3. Randy W

    December 27th, 2007 at 8:45 am

    The audiobook industry must follow this. Amazon should launch the largest drm-free audiobook download store and cut their ties with greedy Audible.

    So the only record label left to go drm-free is Sony, right?

  4. Jono

    December 27th, 2007 at 8:53 am

    “Apple tried to price the tracks at a 30 percent premium to its copyright-protected music”

    All the music on iTunes is protected by copyright law. Not all of it is protected by DRM.

  5. browse

    December 27th, 2007 at 9:08 am

    Not that I’m defending DRM, but I don’t really care if it’s on iTunes. Apple implements it well and it works on both Mac and Windows. My only qualm is that I can’t play iTunes TV shows in Adobe Media Player (which plays video much smoother than iTunes does).

    The biggest problem with DRM is losing a license you’ve legally purchased. Apple allows you to reset your licenses every year (so if your HD dies it’s no big deal) and they aren’t going out of business any time soon, as Music Rebellion and many others have.

  6. sd

    December 27th, 2007 at 9:35 am

    competition is always good.

  7. MGZ

    December 27th, 2007 at 9:48 am

    Universal signed with Amazon due to the NBC video squabble with Apple. The indies are on amazon, and Apple has already stated they are working to get the indies DRM-free on iTunes as well. So this deal is really the first surprise out of the entire bunch, and I would find it extremely hard to believe that Warner won’t sign a similar deal with Apple in the near future.

    In either case — guess who sells the devices to hold the music you buy on either service? Those devices with the fat margins. Thank you! :)

    MGZ

  8. Xoumphonp

    December 27th, 2007 at 10:04 am

    and who is the online retailer selling those devices? you know that retailer that doesn’t need to do much except make money out of people selling used stuff.
    KTHX
    first comment on techcrunch COOL

  9. Colin Scroggins

    December 27th, 2007 at 10:12 am

    Brad: You are right. EMI did first sell DRM free music on iTunes. Erick means Warner Music. It would be nice if he would correct his mistake.

  10. Frugal Goose

    December 27th, 2007 at 12:20 pm

    This is really a win for the consumer. The best part is some of the reduced price featured albums for $6-8. Its actually starting to make a little more sense to purchase these rather than used cds on amazon for around the same price. Of course bringing it down lower would jeopordize amazon’s own cd business and used cd sales commissions. Still plenty of people who would rather have a real hard copy version of the album they can rip at any file format and bitrate… The CD is NOT dead people!

  11. Adam Wexler

    December 27th, 2007 at 1:48 pm

    ^The CD is definitely not dead. Beyond that, IMO, the Music Industry as a whole is thriving like never before. The accessibility is as good as its ever been and only going to get better!

    Great to hear Warner Bros. going with Amazon before Apple. As mentioned before, competition will only leave more satisfied customers. MGZ - Warner Bros. may sign a deal with Itunes in the near future, but not without gaining a good amount of leverage for themselves and subsequently, the rest of the DRM-free movement.

    I like where things are headed..

    -Adam

  12. rocknroll

    December 27th, 2007 at 3:08 pm

    mTraks.com offers DRM-free digital music compatible with all mp3 players. they also offer different subscription and a la carte purchasing packages as well.

  13. Ballmer

    December 27th, 2007 at 3:43 pm

    DRM Free is bad for everyone!

    fakesteveballmer.blogspot.com

  14. the WIZARD, fkap

    December 27th, 2007 at 5:12 pm

    It’s tough not to hail this move as a long overdue and much needed step in moving the music industry into the 21st Century, but……

    Warner and Universal need to also contract with Apple and other music services with their DRM FREE products.

    With Apple having the largest share of music lovers and buyers, it’s simply a bad decision to restrict your product to a single avenue of distribution.

    Imagine if you could only buy Coke at Safeway…. The losers would be Coke and the public. This is typical Major Record Label Think…. “No matter what else we do, let’s make it tough or impossible for the consumer to buy and enjoy our product.”

  15. Matthew Block

    December 27th, 2007 at 6:36 pm

    I do have to say, Amazon’s MP3 Store has actually been *really* good. Now if only they could do the same thing with Unbox (making it DRM-free, iPod compatible, and cross-platform)…

  16. Parul Bindra

    December 28th, 2007 at 2:47 am

    Less DRM in this world is a good thing, but for me personally, this is years too late. Anyways when are we gonna see more DRM-free music in the iTunes Store? Im suren nobody would want to hear any 90s-technology MP3s on their iPod.

    Parul
    http://www.bhopu.com

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    December 28th, 2007 at 3:08 am

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  18. David H. Deans

    December 29th, 2007 at 11:32 am

    The DRM debate is the ultimate swansong for the legacy record labels.

    They will go down in history as the companies that foolishly used their industry association (RIAA) to attack the same young people that they were attempting to retain as customers.

    In contrast, in 2008 Indie recording artists — long ignored by the big record labels — will continue to benefit from their adoption of the free and open market created by Internet Radio, and the timely decline of “payola” practices that characterized the corruption of the “popular music” era.

  19. Horst

    December 30th, 2007 at 1:33 am

    Now they just have to get around and offer it world-wide *rolleyes* If “piracy” is really such a problem world-wide, why don’t the record labels just make it easier for companies to offer legal alternatives everywhere.

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