Digital Journal — Would you pay double the price of a regular song for a copyright-free MP3? Yahoo Music is hoping for an enthusiastic “Yes!” when it begins to sell one song that is completely stripped of digital rights management (DRM). As a test case, Yahoo is offering Jessica Simpson’s “A Public Affair” for $1.99 (double the price of copyright-protected iTunes tracks).
As a DRM-free song, it can be copied anywhere, including to CDs and MP3 players other than iPod. Ironically enough, the track is on the Sony BMG label, which sparked a DRM scandal last year.
Another twist to the Simpson track is the unique ability to personalize the lyrics by adding any first name to the tune. Apparently, making Simpson sexily coo your name on a song doubles the price of the track. That, or the ability to free the MP3 from its usual copy-protection cage.
Yahoo is obviously trying to convince record labels to stop copy-protecting their tracks, and this might be the first volley in an expansive war. If other legal download services follow suit, expect a battle that will give consumers some spicy variety – a buck for a protected tune, two bucks for a DRM-free one.
Which would you choose?
