Sony to develop own DRM-free music store
SonyBMG is working on an all-you-can-eat, DRM-free subscription service, says SonyBMG CEO Rolf Schmidt-Holtz. In a Monday interview (English) with the German-language newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Schmidt-Holtz discussed the new service and was quoted as saying that the “simplest option would be a flat rate,” offering access to Sony BMG’s catalog for a monthly fee of 6 to 8 euros ($9 to $12). The service will provide downloads in a format compatible with all music players, including Apple’s iPod. Naturally, unless Apple decides to license its proprietary FairPlay DRM format, Schmidt-Holtz’s announcement means that service will likely offer its music as DRM-free MP3 files – a concession that he indirectly confirms, noting that it is “even possible that clients could keep some songs indefinitely, that they would own them even after the subscription expired. “
Speaking with the Associated Press, a Bertelsmann spokesman confirmed the interview but refused to provide additional details. Schmidt-Holtz said his company is also in early talks with mobile phone companies like Nokia, in an effort to provide a subscription service over cellular networks: users could pay a one-time fee, he speculated, and then have unlimited access to music downloads over the air. In fact, Schmidtz-Holtz spoke warmly of Apple – who is reportedly working on its own subscription service – calling the company a “very strong partner” and noting that everyone benefits from Apple’s success in the digital music arena, even if Sony BMG may soon be competing with it.
Source: DailyTech
Comments(14)
it is unbelievable that one of the big labels still think they can do it on their own when established online shops like i-tunes and now amazon aswell already control the market…….another bunch of millions burned for nothing…..great management decisions
Why pay for non DRMed downloaded music, if your gonna download it like that you mels well just get it for free
they can… as this might, perhaps result into some kind of exclusivity or timed exclusivity… that means if you want to get some DRM-free music from a Sony BMG artist via online, then you can only get it from the Sony BMG music store. then after some time, they would release it to other online music stores… IIRC, Sony BMG’s music library is pretty big…
i just love the way the power is in Our hands now, and we dictate how much these companies will make.
(frankly i will do anything to see the end of this ‘pop idol’ culture)
good idea. torrents will end really son
still dont trust sony. pass.
Too little too late. Who wants music on their PC’s that will one day evaporate. They need to understand that they’re trying to compete against free all you can download music(P2P). The sooner that happens the better off for everyone. No timed restrictions,No high priced subscriptions and no DRM. I would gladly pay a monthly fee for something thats fair. After all artists deserve to get paid for studio recordings. On the other hand this new system they’re trying to setup still smells of them trying to control things, bigger profits for BMG compared to the artists.
Bit rich coming from sony when you consider there DRM filled Blu-Ray disks….
You’ve got to be kidding me right? Ya ok let me pay money to yet another company to listen to the music i want and quite possibly not have full ownership of it when I stop paying monthly fees. Torrrents will never die or go away.. theese companies need to embrace that and start thinking outside of the box, why would you pay for an albumn when you can download it for free using p2p? And using p2p you can get “exclusive” tracks that come with certain releases too.
musicians pay for this waste of time greedy wanking
yet another reason why they deserve to die, soon
Beware of the rootkits!
if mr.sony want me to write him a song i am very happy to do it. i have a village band and i play the tambourine. maybe i can sell it on mr.sony website?
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SonyBMG is working on an all-you-can-eat, DRM-free subscription service, says SonyBMG CEO Rolf Schmidt-Holtz.
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Sounds interesting, even if the sheer mention of the company makes me sick.
Such a subscription service would never be DRM-free – it simply wouldn’t work. In fact Rolf doesn’t mention DRM at all (nor does the interviewer ask this question) – be assured, such music would be totally DRM-infested. If that’s what you are looking for… go ahead!
It’s a little late, but still a good idea IMHO. There are lot’s of folks out there willing to pay a reasonable fee for DRM-free music, if for no other reason than to not have to worry about being sued. It’s about time the studios capitalized on this very fact. It’s likely not be the exact system the studios would like (especially the DRM-free part) and many people will still chose the path of piracy, but making some money is better than no money at all, right?