Amazon MP3 Store Adds Sony BMG DRM-Free

From Ed Christman, Billboard:

Sony BMG Music Entertainment is joining Amazon's MP3 party, and will allow its music to be sold via the unprotected format on the digital download store. The move comes on the heels of Sony BMG's announcement that it will sell album specific digital download gift cards that will be redeemed in the MP3 format.

While the latter announcement was limited in scope to 37 albums, the Amazon agreement represents a broad acceptance of the MP3 format by Sony BMG, which up until now, had been the major deemed the most resistant to abandon the concept of music protected by digital rights management software.

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Sony BMG To Debut MP3 Album Cards

From Ed Christman, Billboard:

Sony BMG Music Entertainment will roll out its Platinum MusicPass series of digital album cards beginning Jan. 15 at Best Buy, Target and Fred's, with Trans World and Winn-Dixie coming to the party by the end of January.

In Canada, participating retailers include Best Buy, CD Plus, Shoppers Drug Mart, and Wal-Mart with HMV coming on board sometime during the first quarter.

The digital album gift cards, which retail for $12.99, will be artist-specific and feature album artwork, and will come with bonus material. The card will contain a scratch-off that will reveal a PIN number that can be redeemed for a download at MusicPass.com.

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Sony BMG to Drop DRM

From Catherine Holahan, BusinessWeek:

In a move that would mark the end of a digital music era, Sony BMG Music Entertainment is finalizing plans to sell songs without the copyright protection software that has long restricted the use of music downloaded from the Internet, BusinessWeek.com has learned. Sony BMG, a joint venture of Sony and Bertelsmann, will make at least part of its collection available without so-called digital rights management, or DRM, software some time in the first quarter, according to people familiar with the matter.

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Sony BMG Selling MP3s

From Peter Kafka, Silicon Valley Insider:

A confusing report from Billboard says that Sony BMG is going to start selling a limited amount of DRM-free MP3s, via artist-specific gift cards that can be redeemed online. That makes a bit of sense -- Sony has been a steadfast champion of keeping locks on its content, but will likely have to capitulate to the anti-DRM crowd sooner than later, and this is a reasonable baby step. The confusing part: Billboard says the gift cards will be redeemed at musicpass.com, a Sony-BMG online store that currently doesn't exist.

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360: Sony BMG Australia Buys Caplice Stake

From Christie Eliezer, Billboard:

Sony BMG Music Entertainment Australia has become the first major label Down Under to invest in artist management and touring. The firm has taken a 50% share in Sydney-based Caplice Management and is negotiating with a second artist management firm. It is also setting up a concert tour business.

Caplice Management, set up in 1995 by managing director David Caplice, looks after Sony BMG acts Human Nature, David Campbell, Dean Geyer, Damien Leith and the Young Divas, plus Warner Music act singer Katie Noonan and TV presenters Craig Low and Toni Pearen.

In 2002, Caplice Management and Sony BMG set up a joint-venture pop and R&B record label called Random Records, to which Paulini and Tammin Sursok are signed.

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