Warner Music's catalogue has arrived in the UK without all that tedious digital rights management technology attached after the major reached a DRM-free licensing deal with independent download firm 7Digital. The download store is already selling some Warner tunes in the MP3 format, and has a special offer on the go offering selected Warner albums for MP3 download for just a fiver.
As previously reported, Warner, long time supporters of digital rights management, finally announced they were going DRM-free over Christmas when they signed up to Amazon's recently launched MP3 download store. The 7Digital arrangement sees Warner make their music available in that format in the UK for the first time - Amazon downloads being yet to expand beyond North America.
Confirming the new 7Digital deal, Warner Music International Vice-Chairman John Reid told CMU: "This deal will offer music fans a new level of flexibility in their use of tracks from our world-renowned artists. 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. This agreement will not only enhance 7digital.com's service and expand our digital footprint but also benefit artists and music fans alike".
7Digital chief Ben Drury added: "7digital.com is excited to be Warner Music's first major partner in Europe to bring MP3s to the marketplace. Our 1.2 million registered customer base has proved to us that MP3s sell very well and MP3 is currently the format of choice for digital media consumers. The addition of Warner Music's MP3 catalogue to 7digital.com means that over 80% of 7digital.com's 3.5 million track catalogue is now DRM-free. 7digital.com is committed to becoming the destination for MP3s and we plan to make our entire music catalogue available in DRM-free, high-quality MP3 format by summer 2008".