So, by the time EMI head honcho Eric Nicoli stood up to make his big announcement yesterday lunchtime the gossipers were pretty sure this was going to be a big DRM announcement and not a big Beatles announcement, and they were right. EMI have finally overcome that major label obsession with digital rights management technology and will henceforth make their entire digital catalogue available in non-DRM protected file formats - and hurrah for that because, while there's the slight issue of them charging a premium for the privilege of your music not being irritatingly restricted, it is a pretty big development given that to date, senior execs at all major record companies have refused, publicly at least, to entertain the idea of dropping DRM, even though the case for DRM has become so weak in the last year its continued use was almost becoming comical.
EMI will make so called "premium downloads" available almost immediately. As well as coming without DRM these will also be of a better sound quality to music downloads currently available - possibly because basic MP3s aren't especially great sound quality, possibly because a boost in sound quality justifies the increase in price (sort of, though it doesn't really cost any more to provide digital files of better sound quality once initial ingestion is done). The "premium" price thing means that when the new formats go on sale via iTunes next month (iTunes being the first download platform to start selling the whole EMI digital catalogue without DRM) they will cost 99 pence/129 cents, as opposed to 79 pence/99 cents. iTunes users who have already bought a track in the standard format will be able to upgrade it by paying 20 pence / 30 cents. Despite all that, album packages will be available in the "premium" format at the current price, presumably in a bid to boost the sales of digital albums, the digital sector being very dominated by single track purchases to date.
Making his big announcement in London, Nicoli told reporters: "Our goal is to give consumers the best possible digital music experience. By providing DRM-free downloads, we aim to address the lack of interoperability which is frustrating for many music fans. We believe that offering consumers the opportunity to buy higher quality tracks and listen to them on the device or platform of their choice will boost sales of digital music. Apple have been a true pioneer in digital music, and we are delighted that they share our vision of an interoperable market that provides consumers with greater choice, quality, convenience and value for money".
Responding to questions about the premium price being charged on the non-DRM formats, Nicoli said: "Consumers tell us they would be prepared to pay a higher price for a piece of music they can play on any player", while when asked whether, as many in the major label sector have said in the past, that dropping DRM will aid the growth of online music piracy, he continued: "We have to trust our consumers. We have always argued that the best way to combat illegal traffic is to make legal content available at decent value and conveniently".
As expected, Apple chief Steve Jobs was also in attendance at the press conference, confirming that iTunes will be the first to sell the full catalogue of premium downloads. He added: "Selling digital music DRM-free is the right step forward for the music industry. EMI has been a great partner for iTunes and is once again leading the industry as the first major music company to offer its entire digital catalogue DRM-free".
EMI's decision to make music available without DRM, while not a complete surprise given recent rumours that such a move was being considered at the London based major, is nevertheless a radical development in the digital music sector, where the four major record companies have previously stuck fast to the need for DRM on download sales, despite the interoperability issues DRM poses and the fact an increasing number of execs within majors have been privately criticising the continued use of the technology. It now remains to be seen if EMI's move will force the other three majors to follow suit, bringing to an end the widespread use of restrictive DRM in the recorded music retail space. I suspect that it will. Though just how quickly, remains to be seen.
In the meantime, while iTunes will be the first download platform to make the whole EMI catalogue available in the new formats, 7Digital are already making music from The Good, The Bad & The Queen available as high quality DRM-free MP3 downloads - go http://www.7digital.com/gbq for details.