Sony BMG Officially Dumps DRM! All Music Freed!

Confirming the rumors from a week ago, Sony is indeed going DRM-free with its music. The original plan unveiled was going to work in a typically absurd Sony fashion: You would have to visit a Target or Best Buy, purchase a "Platinum Music Pass" card for $12.99, then go home, visit musicpass.com, enter the code on the card, and download the album, DRM-free. Why people wouldn't just buy a CD and rip it at home instead of going to all that trouble is beyond me... and Sony must have figured that out in short order, because the DRM-free tracks are now, finally, coming to Amazon, along with those of all the other Big Four record labels.

This move means that virtually all music titles will now be available from the Amazon MP3 store, free of Digital Rights Management restrictions. Apple's iTunes store, by comparison, still has DRM-free tracks from only one provider, EMI (though it is expected to announce at least one more next week at MacWorld). After the tracks arrive later this month, Amazon will carry 3.25 million DRM-free tracks vs. iTunes' 2 million, and Amazon's number is growing. 

On a broader note, this is of course great news for fans of open standards and foes of restrictions on how we use the media we rightfully pay for. While some have pegged this as a bellwether for the same thing happening to movies, I think that's a long way off, if ever. The markets are just too different, and so far the anti-DRM winds just aren't blowing Hollywood's way.

Still, it's a great day for music consumers. Celebrate by queuing up some Sony-approved Britney Spears or Tenacious D.

LINK: Amazon Completes DRM-Free Roster With Sony-BMG