MP3s get called up to the Majors
Hollywood Records, owned by Disney, is going to sell Jesse McCartney’s new album “Right Where You Want Me” on Yahoo! Music as unprotected MP3 files. This is Yahoo’s second experiment with paid MP3 downloads, following the Yahoo! Music’s release of Jessica Simpson’s latest single as an unprotected MP3.
While Emusic.com, the second largest online music retailer, offers all of it’s music as unprotected MP3 files, they don’t have any music from the major labels. Until now, the major labels have insisted on DRM protection on all online music sales. Emusic has used this as a competitive advantage because it allows them to sell music that plays on Apple’s iPod while most other DRM-protected music isn’t iPod-compatible. Yahoo! Music has taken notice and is hoping to gain the same advantage:
Yahoo! is looking to end Apple’s and Microsoft’s [sic] dominance of the technology behind online music.
In a first for mainstream pop music, Yahoo! will sell Jesse McCartney’s new album “Right Where You Want Me,” from Disney-owned Hollywood Records, in the unprotected MP3 format.
That means consumers will be able to play it on any digital music device, including Apple’s iPod. MP3 files are the only type that will play on an iPod besides those downloaded from iTunes.
While Emusic has shown the business potential of selling unprotected MP3s, it’s audience is older and more likely to care about file format. With Jesse McCartney, Yahoo! Music is testing the viability of MP3s with a mainstream teen act. This will act as a test case for future MP3 offerings:
Labels and Netcos will be watching sales of the album, which Yahoo! will promote heavily throughout its network of Web sites to see whether consumers are more interested in buying unprotected MP3 files and whether it has any impact on piracy.
Interestingly, Yahoo! Music is the driver behind these experiments, not the label. They understand that DRM doesn’t make business sense and are trying to bring the labels along with them:
Exploring ways the music industry could help move the pay market forward, Dave asks the labels to lighten the DRM requirements. “DRM is not a consumer value proposition, it’s a consumer cost. It creates a nice barrier of entry for the tech companies, rather than something that’s beneficial to labels, artists, or consumers.”
Yahoo! Music Blog » Dave Goldberg to Record Labels: No DRM, Please
The future of major-label MP3 downloads, at least in the near term, may depend on the success of this experiment. It will be interesting to see how the public at large responds to this offer.
technorati tags:mp3, downloads, itunes, emusic, yahoo!, jesse, mccartney, hollywood, records
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