The catch in Robertson's new service is the most compatible, yet totally unrestricted MP3 audio format. The are now DRM (Digital Rights Management) technologies implemented, so the audio can be used more freely than in competitor services. But the problem is that the major record labels will not do the MP3 dance, so Robertson's site is forced to sell lesser known minor label bands. According to the sources, there is a catalog of more than 200.000 tracks gathered for the service. The suggested pricing is $0.88 per track, or $8.88 for an album.
Michael however is very hopeful that major record labels would start to sell music in unrestricted format."The industry has changed remarkably over the last seven to eight years and I think the next step . . . is to say we'll sell a song without DRM,", he said.
The name of this new service is not too innovative. MP3Tunes.com is expected to be launched at the Desktop Summit conference in San Diego on the 10th of February.
Sources: InformationWeek, The Canadien Press
Written by: Lasse Penttinen @ 5 Feb 2005 23:47
