EMI warns that ditching DRM will increase prices

RECORD COMPANIES are planning to use the dumping of DRM as an excuse to jack the prices up of online music sales.

EMI has already said that it plans to dump DRM, which it admits was a costly mistake which had done nothing to stop the spread of piracy.

However, in a bid to make someone else responsible for its failure, EMI has told the online music retailers that if they wanted to flog DRM free music then they will have to pay more money.

According to ArsTechnica, EMI has backed out of talks with the online music companies because they will not agree to its demands.

EMI's justification is that if it drops DRM then retailers should help it 'shoulder some of the risk', even though it admits that the use of the technology never provided it any insurance in the first place. It is as if someone demanded huge wodges of cash from the government to take off a pink woolly hat that they were convinced stopped the sky from falling.

The online retailers are keen to get the record companies to drop DRM and may even give them some cash to do so, but it seems that EMI's price might be a bit high. µ