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June 21, 2007

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DRM-free tracks selling like increased temperature pastries

Posted Jun. 21, ’07, 8:18 AM PT by Dan Moren
Category | iTunes » iTunes Store

Dark Side of the MoonBack before we were subsumed with news of the handset that shall bring peace and harmony to the world, there were other issues at stake—important issues. Just under a month ago, for example, Apple launched iTunes Plus, which made available DRM-free tracks from record label EMI. Steve Jobs had promised earlier this year that half of the music in the iTunes Store would be DRM-free by the end of the year. How’s that going for him?

The first sales figures from EMI show a promising spike since the introduction of DRM-free music. “The initial results of DRM-free music are good,” said Lauren Berkowitz, an EMI Senior VP. Sales of Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon are reputedly up 272% since the introduction of DRM-free tracks, while other EMI artists like Norah Jones, Coldplay, and Smashing Pumpkins had seen increases as well. Meanwhile, CD sales for many of those same albums have declined over the same period.

That said, I’ll keep my enthusiasm tempered. We don’t know, for example, whether or not upgrading your tracks to the DRM-free version counts as a “sale.” And keep in mind that iTunes doesn’t let you choose which tracks to upgrade: it’s an all-or-nothing proposition, which might help explain the spike. And there’s always the novelty factor to consider as well. It may be that interest in DRM-free tracks cools as it becomes old hat. But interest may pick up if other record labels join EMI on the DRM-free bandwagon (pun intended!). Call me cautiously optimistic.

[via Ars Technica]


4 Comments

Matt said:

Simile watch: it's "selling like hotcakes," not "selling like hot cakes." Even going back to the origin of the cakes as griddle cakes made from corn meal fried in grease, they were never "pastries."

Mmm...pastry....

June 21, 2007 9:37 AM
Kirk said:

I don't buy it. I think much of this is upgrades for now. It'll take a few months to have a better idea.

June 21, 2007 10:16 AM
Tony Di Giacomo said:

I was wondering if the "all or nothing" approach is part EMI's conditions to do this. Are other music downloading servicing websites also offering "upgrades" (for lack of a better term.) Also, it would be interesting to know how much of this spike is due to DRMless files, the higher bit rate, or both. Just thinking out loud.

June 21, 2007 11:08 AM
michaelant said:

I don't buy it. I think much of the cornmeal (not "corn meal") fried in grease could indeed be called pastries. It'll take a few months to have a better idea.

June 21, 2007 11:56 AM

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