People that like digital downloads typically do not like the DRM aspect of it.  Musicians and the record industry havw taken note by trying to reduce the presence of DRM in our lives.  British rock group Iron Maiden has joined this camp as well.

They will be releasing a limited-DRM “best of” compilation album that can be downloaded for free.

The album, entitled Somewhere back In Time is a collection of 15 songs and come as 320kbps WMA files.  They can be played three times before expiring after which users will be urged to buy the DRM-free version of the album at full price.

BritMusicScene reports the album includes the following tracks,

Churchill Speech
Aces High
2 Minutes To Midnight
The Trooper
Wasted Years
Children Of The Damned
The Number Of The Beast
Run To The Hills
Phantom Of The Opera (live)
The Evil That Men Do
Wrathchild (live)
Can I Play With Madness
Powerslave
Hallowed Be Thy Name
Iron Maiden (live)

This works out for those that like free music and those that like getting paid for producing the music.  Some will choose to buy the DRM version of the album and some will not.

Fans will most certainly pony up for the DRM-free version.  Somewhere back in Time will be available for free download from the Iron Maiden website. 

Unfortunately, the tracks cannot be transferred to an iPod.

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Entry was posted on Thursday, March 13th, 2008 at 5:21 pm under Uncategorized.

Read more entries by Jonathan Schlaffer.
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