EMI wants to abandon DRM

Just three days after the acclaimed open letter to Steve Jobs, one of the Big Four companies turned to online music marketplaces with a request to put forward their suggestions on how best to start selling music as unprotected files.

The Wall Street Journal in an EMI Mulls Lifting Online-Music Restrictions article ( currently available only to subscribers) writes that the British record giant EMI will soon give up all or part of its music catalog for sale in online stores without any protection by DRM systems.

Representatives of the largest retailers, such as the iTunes Music Store, Real Rhapsody and Napster, have to say their word on the next Thursday on what price to ask for free musical compositions and how much they expect to sell them. While it is assumed that the rejection of DRM will cost customers a little more expensive than the standard for today 99 cents per song.
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However, despite the publication in such a respected publication with an impeccable reputation, the EMI press service has so far refused to comment on this information, citing a policy of ignoring "rumors and speculation."

Needless to say, in the event of official confirmation, this event will produce a real revolution in the entire music industry.

via Ars , Inquirer