Amazon starts dishing out DRM-free Warner Music MP3s

We're not sure if Amazon's forthcoming DRM-less Super Bowl promotion has anything to do with it or not, but the company has just announced that its finally brought Warner Music Group into its MP3 fold, with a slew of music from the label now available for download without any of those pesky restrictions. According to Dow Jones, the pair also plan to offer other "digital music products," including album bundles with exclusive tracks, although details are few and far between beyond that. Still no word from Sony BMG on its intentions to go DRM-free (with Amazon or anyone else), but it sure looks like things are increasingly stacking up against them.

[Jeff @ Dec 27th 2007 11:57AM]

Warner's not entirely new to mp3... I bought a Paramore CD/DVD combo just a few weeks ago that had the album as both a CD, as DVD Audio and as a set of mp3's. (And yes, I mean mp3's.) They're on Fueled by Ramen but distributed by Warner.

I would also keep buying music that way - those CD/DVD combinations - rather than downloading. You really get a lot more for your money.

[Andrew @ Dec 27th 2007 11:57AM]

This is awesome news. Once sony goes DRM free that might be the sign of the end to CDs

[PGP-Protector @ Dec 27th 2007 11:57AM]

Sweet.
DMR Free music, might start to buy some again.

[jamma @ Dec 27th 2007 2:38PM]

Luckily digital music has always been DMR free...

great news though

[Zak @ Dec 27th 2007 12:00PM]

DRM free music is definitely a trend that needs to continue. Here's hoping.

[ethana2 @ Dec 27th 2007 3:54PM]

I'd prefer ogg over mp3 anyday, but this is still a very good thing, and the patents on mp3 are about to expire anyway.

[m @ Dec 28th 2007 1:38PM]

i find few things more annoying than ogg vorbis fanboys. there is nothing wrong with mp3, at a high enough bitrate--especially with vbr encoding. with storage as cheap as it is today, there is no reason to keep whining about it. mp3 is the de facto universal standard, and there is a definite advantage in being able to play a sound file on any computer, any device.

[Josh @ Dec 28th 2007 3:28PM]

My ogg files never play on whatever latest player I get. I'll get around to re-encoding them to mp3's one of these days...

[Melissa @ Dec 27th 2007 12:01PM]

I applaud Amazon for adding Warner Music to the fold (yay, King Crimson!). However, the service is still beyond the looking glass for anyone but United States residents.
Alert me once us Canucks can legally use this service. Then I will care much more.

[Muir Wood @ Dec 27th 2007 12:09PM]

great news - a worthy competitor to itunes. any idea when this will make its way across the atlantic?

[dcny @ Dec 27th 2007 12:12PM]

im not sure what to think about sony, which was more concerned about drm before the merger sony or bmg

[Phil Anselmo @ Dec 27th 2007 12:39PM]

Why would u buy mp3s on itunes or whatever. You don't get the liner notes, pictures, special thanks to...., what the band uses and abuses, etc..... Plus, you are dissecting an album. The band made the album to be listened to in it's entirety. Not to be dissected from some idiot who can't even tell the difference between an mp3 and the same song recorded on to a compact disk. It really is sad seeing people getting ripped off, but I guess what u don't know cant hurt you. Damn I feel sorry for the over abundance of SUCKERS out there.

[rob @ Dec 27th 2007 12:52PM]

First of all, you do get artwork when you buy an album from itunes. Second, buying mp3's shouldn't imply not buying an album. CD's are useless to me because all I really want is the digital music so i can stream it wherever I want in my house over my squeezeboxes.

For many of us, DRM free music isn't about stealing - it's about being able to listen to the music we bought however we want to.

[shanoboy @ Dec 27th 2007 12:55PM]

Hey Mr. Pantera, MP3s aren't all bad. I too like listening to music as full albums and no you don't get album art and liner notes, etc, but... it's not all bad.

Amazon is offering some full album downloads for as low as $7 and its DRM free!!! They also tend to be cheaper on a per song basis and if we know anything about Amazon, they'll keep driving the costs down! They're ultra competitive.

Now I-tunes, that is for suckers. If you bought an entire albums worth of music off I-tunes you'd pay the same (or more) as you would for the album with packaging, lossless quality and no DRM as a CD. Total rip off and definately for suckers.

[ethana2 @ Dec 27th 2007 4:16PM]

'I feel sorry for the over abundance of SUCKERS out there.'

If you did, you'd offer to help them. Start with useful information. They don't distribute high resolution album cover images with album purchases? Who do we talk to? 1024x1024 pixels would be good enough for me. Make it an .svg with embedded .png's to maximize its value. You? Should they tell you what drug they were on when they wrote songs by putting its name in the mp3 metadata? Would that make you feel better? ...actually.. nevermind.

[tamoghno @ Dec 27th 2007 12:54PM]

look its a DRM news , so the Zune is "Hiding" its face !

[stephenbratz2 @ Dec 27th 2007 1:31PM]

Ahhh look, another iPod fan boy who needs to open his mouth without knowing a bit about what he is talking about. FYI: I bought MP3 tracks off of the Zune marketplace, Amazon, and the iTunes marketplace just last night, and guess what, they all worked on my new Zune 80. I also loaded those MP3s from all 3 stores onto my iPod Touch - and it worked there also.

Guess what? iTunes also has DRM wrapped music, are you complaining about that? No? Why not? Because you are the typical iPod fan POS that thinks that he is better than everyone else, and does not research what he is talking about. And because they think that they know better than everyone else, they just say whatever crosses that piece of mush they call a brain, wether it is true or not.

Yes, I use primarily Microsoft software, and it does the job well for me. The GF uses a Mac, I have used it, and it does not get the job done - for me. My iPod Touch is useful for browsing the web when there is an open Wi-Fi hotspot. I have been thinking about an iPhone to replace my Blackjack, but with people like you, I would rather not have any association with the Apple name. Thank-you for convincing me not to buy into Apple and saving that money.

[ethana2 @ Dec 27th 2007 3:59PM]

uh.. is that supposed to be funny or something?
I don't get it.

The Year of the DRM-less music library. I may actually consider buying music online.. weird thought for me. Tell me when they jack the bitrate up to 300kbps and offer ogg's.. I may not be able to refuse.. even though it's copyrighted stuff... growl. Decisions, decisions.
~Ubuntu, Jamendo.com user.

[shanoboy @ Dec 27th 2007 12:59PM]

What are you talking about dude? The Zune plays DRM free music just fine. Trust me, I have one. In fact, I'm fairly sure any PMP plays DRM free music just fine.

[Craig @ Dec 27th 2007 1:10PM]

Yes but when are they gonna offer this outside the US? Uk calling amazon!!!

[abadtooth @ Dec 27th 2007 2:15PM]

DRM Free FTW!!

[Billybob @ Dec 27th 2007 2:41PM]

Why would u buy mp3s. First of all they sound like shit. Second of all I like getting the liner notes, pictures, special thanks to..., what the band uses and abuses etc......... I hope whoever buys mp3s from itunes or whatever that there harddrive crashes.

[ethana2 @ Dec 27th 2007 4:05PM]

If I cared, I could probably find that other stuff online too. I'd google them and find out where, but.. I don't. I don't care about the bands. At all. Just the music, its file quality, and the license its under.

But yeah, ogg and flac do make mp3 sound horrible. Heck, from back when I used windows, I'd say even wma does the same thing. I try to avoid mp3 when possible and its a shame it became ubiquitous by having patents ignored instead of using other technologies that are fundamentally open.

[Bob @ Dec 27th 2007 2:44PM]

This is fantastic news, Warner Music has some good stuff, Led Zeppelin, Green Day, Metallica, and plenty more:

http://www.techconsumer.com/2007/12/27/amazon-mp3-one-ups-apple-gets-warner-music-mp3s-drm-free/

[Galley @ Dec 27th 2007 4:16PM]

This would be awesome if Amazon weren't still using 1990s technology (MP3).

[Matt @ Dec 27th 2007 4:19PM]

It's the only thing that can play on pretty much every player. Maybe if some more portables started supporting something good and free like Vorbis...

[Brodie @ Dec 27th 2007 4:20PM]

I'm a little late to the party here, but does anyone else see the irony in that first iPod displaying a Radiohead album, when 1) They are no longer with WMG, and 2) gave away their latest album DRM-free for whatever price you chose to pay?

[Matt @ Dec 27th 2007 4:28PM]

Where is Roadrunner Records? They aren't on any DRM free services. Well at least not the MP3 stores of Amazon or Walmart.

[seoultrain @ Dec 27th 2007 4:38PM]

1,000 Engadget points to whoever can name all the players in that picture. There's a bigger one on the amazon site. I can only see (old)ipod, zune, sansa, zen, 2 blackberries, and a nano.

[metal @ Dec 27th 2007 6:37PM]

I'm bored so I'll play.


ipod video (pre classic ver)
zune (think 2nd gen)
sansa e2xx series
toshiba gigabeat ( dont ask which ver I dunno)
smartphone ( I have no idea which)
chocolate (cellphone)
palm treo (again dunno the number)
blackberry (pearl?)
sony ericcson (number unknown again)
ipod nano 2nd gen
creative zen vision (they made a zillion of these so I dunno what letter they put after it)
razr
too friggin small
creative zen v (plus?)
sansa c series(?)
and the rest are too damn small, although I see another creative zen v something in the backround(the colors a dead give away)

[seoultrain @ Dec 29th 2007 2:47PM]

nicely done, metal.

[Trent @ Dec 27th 2007 6:40PM]

I have a red 3G nano. I absolutely REFUSE to download any music from iTunes if I can avoid it. I download everything from Amazon which is encoded with LAME at 256 and DMR free baby. Amazon albums are $1 to $4 cheaper than iTunes too. I also download bunches of indie/rock/dance music from emusic for than less 33 cents a song in LAME around 192 VBR and once again DRM free.

If anyone is interested in getting 50 free songs from emusic, I will refer you, just email me at [e-mail]


Cheers!

[PenaltyKillah @ Dec 31st 2007 6:51PM]

That "all-star" DAP/cellphone lineup... features outdated versions of the iPod, Zune, and Gigabeat. That's how irrelevant Amazon is.