Amazon Tops Apple with Warner MP3 Deal
iTunes, Wal-Mart, and Amazon's "Amazon MP3" service sell DRM-free music downloads, but so far only from EMI (along with a "test" by Universal Music Group). Today Amazon.com announced it has beaten Apple (!) to the punch; it's signed a deal with Warner Music Group to sell MP3 downloads, giving customers the choice of more than 2.9 Million songs on Amazon MP3.
"Our customers are delighted with our DRM-free MP3 service. We have received thousands of emails from our customers since our September launch thanking us for offering the biggest selection of high-quality MP3 audio downloads which play on virtually any music device they own today or will own in the future," said Bill Carr, Amazon.com Vice President of Digital Music. "With the addition of great Warner Music Group content, our customers will discover even more of the music they love on Amazon MP3."
"Consumers want flexibility with respect to what they can do with music once they purchase it, and we want them to have that flexibility, which is why we're pleased to offer our artists' music on Amazon MP3," said Michael Nash, Senior Vice President, Digital Strategy and Business Development for Warner Music Group. "We believe that giving consumers the assurance that the music they purchase can be played on any device they own will only encourage more sales of music. Amazon shares our vision with respect to offering feature-rich music based digital products, and we look forward to making available an array of exciting new digital products over time that will transform the relationship between and among consumers, labels and artists."
"Our customers are delighted with our DRM-free MP3 service. We have received thousands of emails from our customers since our September launch thanking us for offering the biggest selection of high-quality MP3 audio downloads which play on virtually any music device they own today or will own in the future," said Bill Carr, Amazon.com Vice President of Digital Music. "With the addition of great Warner Music Group content, our customers will discover even more of the music they love on Amazon MP3."
"Consumers want flexibility with respect to what they can do with music once they purchase it, and we want them to have that flexibility, which is why we're pleased to offer our artists' music on Amazon MP3," said Michael Nash, Senior Vice President, Digital Strategy and Business Development for Warner Music Group. "We believe that giving consumers the assurance that the music they purchase can be played on any device they own will only encourage more sales of music. Amazon shares our vision with respect to offering feature-rich music based digital products, and we look forward to making available an array of exciting new digital products over time that will transform the relationship between and among consumers, labels and artists."
Interesting. Do you recall what Warner's CEO said when Steve Jobs proposed removing DRM from all music? Yeah, he wasn't too kind about it. Yet this 180% turnaround?
