[Infowarrior] - Microsoft changes tune on selling DRM-free songs

[Richard Forno]

Microsoft changes tune on selling DRM-free songs
Company's been talking with record labels for 'some time'
Elizabeth Montalbano

http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&taxo
nomyName=mobile_devices&articleId=9015898&taxonomyId=75

April 06, 2007 (IDG News Service) -- Following digital music pioneer Apple
Inc.'s lead, Microsoft Corp. said it will soon sell digital music online
without digital rights management (DRM) protection.

Microsoft's apparent change of heart on selling DRM-free music came in
response to Apple's deal earlier in the week to sell unprotected content
from recording company EMI Group PLC. The company previously claimed that
DRM was necessary for current and emerging digital media business models.

"The EMI announcement on Monday was not exclusive to Apple," said Katy
Asher, a Microsoft spokeswoman on the Zune team, in an e-mail to the IDG
News Service today. She said Microsoft has been talking with EMI and other
record labels "for some time now" about offering unprotected music on its
Zune players in an effort to meet the needs of its customers.

"Consumers have made it clear that unprotected music is something they
want," Asher said. "We plan on offering it to them as soon as our label
partners are comfortable with it."

In February, Apple CEO and founder Steve Jobs stirred up controversy when he
called for an end to DRM in an open letter to the industry published on
Apple's Web site. At the time, Microsoft responded harshly to Jobs'
statement -- a Zune spokesman called it naive and irresponsible -- but now
the company seems to have literally changed its tune.

Microsoft released Zune and its corresponding Zune Marketplace last November
as a competitor to iPod and iTunes. Early reports on sales of the device
show it has done little to cut into iPod's market share, but Microsoft
executives have maintained that the company's investment in Zune is long
term and the product was not expected to overtake the iPod immediately.