Play.com becomes first major UK retailer to go DRM-free with PlayDigital

Digital Music
Share

How do you reduce the amount of illegal downloading? Well, if you’re the government, you attempt to bring in a ridiculous law banning internet use for three-time offenders. Or if you’re a sensible retailer, you make legal downloads more appealing to the consumer.

That’s what Play.com is doing, becoming the first major UK retailer to offer DRM-free downloads via its PlayDigital service. The company is already making noises about challenging iTunes in the UK, but with just EMI and some of the larger indies ( Vital and Pinnacle) on its books, that’s not a claim you can take seriously right now.

But offering files that can be played on any platform is a step forward. Pricing is good too, with the top 100 tracks available from 65p per track (compared to 79p on iTunes) and albums from £4.95.

Play.com

Related posts

If you love The Pirate Bay, wear… yellow?
Could major labels’ Total Music initiative run into regulatory trouble?
Brits still like music CDs despite rise in Internet downloads

Dave Walker
For latest tech stories go to TechDigest.tv