Probably the most important moment in recent music business history occurred over Christmas last year when Warner Music and SonyBMG finally followed EMI and Universal's lead and announced they would start selling their music as digital files without digital rights management, overnight ending Apple's hold on the download market. Previously only Apple could sell major label music that would work on their market leader iPod - now iTunes' rivals could sell DRM-free MP3s which also work on the Apple device.
The majors (with the exception of EMI, who got there first through a deal with Apple) had been persuaded to drop their kamikaze love affair with DRM in order to sign up to Amazon's digital music service, which launched in the US in January. Amazon are widely seen as one of the few brands that can take on Apple in the download market, but only if they can sell music in a format that works on their rival's player. As that format was the DRM-free MP3, and as the labels want Amazon (or someone) to break Apple's hold over the digital music market, they were forced to see sense and comply.
While it took much of the year for Amazon MP3 to reach the UK, other services over here were able to capitalise on the major labels' change of heart and start selling all music in iPod-compatible MP3 formats. 7Digital were first to be selling MP3s from all four majors in the UK, but Play.com quickly followed and others - HMV, Tesco, Napster - are following suit. So much so the Entertainment Retailers' Association this year launched an industry wide logo for download stores to use when they are selling tracks as MP3.