EMI and Universal are doing it. So are smaller labels. Sony BMG and Warner Music may soon join the club of record labels releasing music through the unrestrictive MP3 format. It’s about time.
Digital Journal — Who would’ve thought Pepsi would be laying the pressure on record labels? A proposed year-long promotion between
Pepsi and Amazon, where Pepsi consumers can win downloaded songs, is forcing some major music industry players to reconsider their digital rights management (DRM) policies.
The Pepsi contest, set to be announced on Feb. 3 during the Super Bowl, will potentially offer one billion redeemable MP3 tracks. Amazon will work with major labels to broker deals on which tracks will be available.
Pepsi’s contest is pressuring record labels to follow the lead of trailblazers such as Universal Music. Since August, they allowed the sale of 85 per cent of its music catalogue.
Sources speaking to
Reuters suggest Universal is close to permanently embracing that digital format, but the decision is still up in the air while the company awaits results from the trial, due in mid-January.
Also, Disney’s Hollywood Records has brought MP3 tracks to Amazon and walmart.com, offering up to 40 titles from its sizable catalogue. And EMI has been selling its music as MP3s since June.
Courting the idea of distributing music through MP3 is Sony BMG. The company has always shaken its head at the idea of MP3s, insisting it will continue applying DRM to restrict full use of its music. But recently Sony BMG allowed its independent distributor, RED Distribution, to work with Amazon on creating an MP3 download store.
The time is ripe for a full-scale MP3 conversion.
Digital track sales have ballooned by 416 per cent, from the 142.6 million tracks in 2004 to the 735.4 million tracks accumulated so far this year, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Billboard estimates that digital download sales could increase by another five million per week next year.
In addition, U.S. CD sales continue to slide — down 18.6 per cent compared with 2006. A new year may bring with it a new physical format, and so far the MP3 is the digital download format of choice.
If record labels want to remain relevant in this increasingly download-friendly era, they should shrug off the dust from their stodgy past and give in to DRM-free MP3s. They can only win more fans, more money and more respect.
