7digital goes completely DRM free

ONLINE MUSIC RETAILER 7digital.com has gone completely DRM free following a deal with Sony BMG which allows the sale of its catalogue in blissfully open MP3 format.

The deal means that 7digital is the first in Europe to have DRM-free licensing deals with all four of the major music studios, offering its four-million strong catalogue in MP3 format, with some available in WMA, AAC and FLAC as well.

Those who previously bought any of Sony's 250,000 odd tracks from 7digital in WMA format will also be allowed to download them again in 320kbps MP3 for free.

Ben Drury, 7digital.com's CEO was "extremely happy to be the first and only digital media company providing a full catalogue of MP3 music for the increasing number of people who are using the Internet to download music onto different devices."

Drury believes that DRM is dead for the al-a-carte online music download services and says, "consumers see DRM as somewhat of a hindrance when purchasing legal digital music."

To help punt the deal, 7digital is offering all users two free MP3 albums - the first is a compilation from a few EMI artists and the second is a selection of acts from 7digital's indie store.

The company has also launched a new API and partner programme, giving third-party developers the ability to create new music applications based on 7digital's platform and access its downloads, streaming, music metadata, images and recommendations.

"With the new API offering, anyone can pull data from our systems and use it as a backbone for their own download store or music. We have some ideas as to how it might be used but I’m sure we’ve only scratched the surface of what’s possible," explained Drury.

"The partner program provides access to the same data with the added benefit of pre-defined widgets that can be embedded into an existing website. This is ideal for those non-developers keen to get music onto their site, blog or profile."

Drury believes it is imperative to educate the majority of Itunes users who are unaware of the limitations on the music they buy from Apple, particularly the lack interoperability with most other media players and the lack of online back-up.

Finally, 7digital is expanding into several other European countries. It is already available in the UK, Ireland, Germany, France and Spain and from today Austria, Portugal and Italy have been added to that list. It is also launching a pan-European store with a slightly more limited collection for those outside these countries.

There are also plans to spread into the US and Canada before the end of the year. µ