Sony Ericsson has revealed the next stage in the evolution of its PlayNow arena mobile music download service. Deals with 10 major record labels have been struck which will add over five million new and mostly DRM-free tracks to the PlayNow arena catalog.
Besides the ten major labels, Sony Ericsson is also planning to snare some regional labels to further deepen its bucket of musical riches. Sounds to us like the service could seriously compete with those sorts of numbers. Hit the jump for a list of the ten record companies that are already onboard.
Continue reading ‘Sony Ericsson gives its PlayNow music service a shot in the arm’
Amazon, giant of the online retailing world, has decided to kick up a bit of dust in the downloadable music market by launching its new AmazonMP3 service with ‘DRM-Free’ as a key feature. Currently in beta and available for US users only, the service offers its tracks in DRM-free 256Kbit (or variable bit-rate) MP3 format for just 89¢, which is 10¢ cheaper than the DRM-protected 128Kbit AAC files from iTunes US. Higher-quality unlocked files cost $1.29 on the iTunes Plus service.
It’s an interesting move from Amazon — one that is bound to have raised a few eyebrows over at Apple, particularly with regard to the prices being offered. However, the real deal maker will be the breadth of titles that Amazon can offer, and the quality of its browsing and search features for the store. We’d be surprised if AmazonMP3 wasn’t around this time next year, however, and available across the UK and Europe too.
Click here to check the store out.
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