TECH.BLORGE.com
VISTA.BLORGE.com
MAC.BLORGE.com
GAMER.BLORGE.com

December 28, 2007 |

Amazon trumps Apple, strikes deal with Warner for DRM-free music

By Erna Mahyuni





Amazon trumps Apple, strikes deal with Warner for DRM-free music Amazon’s managed a coup in its campaign to be the MP3-seller king of the heap by doing what Apple’s iTunes hasn’t: gotten Warner to license its tunes DRM-free. Bad enough that Amazon already sells its tunes at 89 cents – ten cents cheaper than iTunes.

Reuters reports that Amazon’s sweetening the deal with exclusive tracks as well as special packaged bundles. With Universal, EMI and Warner already peddling tunes on Amazon, it might not be long before movie studios follow suit. Movie downloads on Amazon, anyone?

Investors seem to be pleased with the deal as well. Warner Music’s shares rose 7 cents to $6.04 while Amazon’s Nasdaq-listing rose $1.38 to $94.23. No word if Apple’s shares took a hit but then they’ve had a good year, what with the stellar sales of their laptops, Leopard and, of course, iPods.

The question is whether Amazon’s success will spell trouble for Apple’s iPod sales now that DRM-free MP3s are easily available. iTunes has gotten a lot of flak for selling DRM-protected tunes, making the songs unplayable on non-iPod players. This will be the real litmus test to see if the iPod can continue selling well now other players can have easy access to legal tunes. Will 2008 be the year an iPod-killer emerges? Judging by recent iPod sales numbers (the iPod Nano topped Amazon’s 5 -10GB MP3 player category at Christmas), I wouldn’t hold my breath.

Related:

  • Flexibility is key: NBC strikes deal with Amazon.com’s Unbox, abandons iTunes
  • Wal-Mart offers DRM-free music download service
  • Amazon.com Launches DRM-Free MP3 Store
  • Amazon offers two iPods for the price of one
  • Warner offers free music through new iMeem deal




  • Sign up for the BLORGE daily email newsletter

    One Response to “Amazon trumps Apple, strikes deal with Warner for DRM-free music”

    1. Rachel:

      Movie downloads on Amazon?

      They already have it. It’s just slow, DRM ridden and unsatisfactory.

      Amazon Unbox. Heard of it?

    Leave a Reply:

    Copyright © 2008 Engaging and compelling blogs that entertain and inform