Vodafone, the world’s largest mobile phone operator (in terms of revenue), has inked a new deal with Warner Music Group that completes its collection of deals with major music labels.
The Warner deal will see music from artists such as James Blunt being made available by Vodafone without any copy protection mechanism included that would not just make copying harder, but also lock music to certain devices.
The operator had previously signed deals with the EMI group, Universal Music Group and Sony Music. Vodafone is now the first global mobile phone operator that will offer over-the-air downloads of music from all four major record companies.
“The response to the DRM-free offering in all the markets where it has launched has been incredibly enthusiastic,” said Pieter Knook, Vodafone Internet Services Director. “Our customers love … the flexibility that DRM-free on mobile gives them.”
The record labels continue to seek out new deals where DRM is now negotiable, as it tries to fill revenue gaps created by falling CD sales, rising piracy and other economic factors since the start of the century.
Result for: free music
Currently in Japan there are hundreds of websites that allow for Japanese mobile phone users to download free music, right to their phones, and quickly, depending on the speed of their data networks.
The RIAJ (Recording Industry Association of Japan) wants to put an end to that however and is currently in talks with the Japanese cell phone carriers for a large operation that will shut down the free music sites, or turn them into pay sites, while also taking more control of the mobile handset industry.
The Yomiuri Online says that over 70 million songs are downloaded “legally” every year via mobile phones in Japan, with another 400 million being downloaded from unauthorized sources.
The new operation will work as follows: When a song is downloaded, it is first checked by the mobile phone operator and if it is from a legal source, it is fine. If they are not, users will receive a note that tells them they are “killing the Japanese music industry,” and should stop doing so immediately.
Akihabara brings up a good point however when they note that Japanese legal sources are a complete ripoff. The average sell price is 300 Yen per song from legit mobile download servers, an equivalent of just under $3 USD. In America we complain about $1 USD.
Result for: free music
The Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) is pushing for an agreement with music download sites and other entities in Japan that would see digital rights management (DRM) copy protection software being placed on mobile phones in the country. In Japan, handsets are branded, supplied and managed by the network operators themselves. Every year, about 330 million tracks are sold legally and delivered over-the-air in Japan.
It is estimated that as many as 400 million tracks are shared illegally each year. The Financial Times reported the story, citing anonymous participants in the talks. If the plan were to go ahead, when a user attempts to play a song on a mobile phone, the device would first consult online servers to check whether the file was legitimate.
If it wasn’t legitimate, then the song simply wouldn’t play. If the companies involved came to an agreement soon, then the technology could be rolled out in the country as early as 2011. Of course, there are some big questions that need to be asked about its practicality. What about legally “ripped” tracks from a purchased CD? How could they possibly be verified - or would they simply not be allowed to play on the phone either? What about free music?
Also, it is likely that for the plan to work, all companies offering legal downloads in the country would have to participate in it, for music to be “authorized” before being played - and so would all carriers. It is a sad fact that while online stores in other countries are increasingly stripping away restraining DRM content, Japan’s record company trade group wants to push the country in the opposite direction.
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