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Top 5 Places To Buy DRM Free Downloads

by bhoughton on September 28th, 2007

1. Amazon - This download store just opened, but it’s all DRM free mp3’s all of the time. While - like the other DRM free stores it does not have all of the major label product (only EMIa nd some Universal thanks to old school thinking at Warner Music Group and Sony BMG) - Amazon offers 2.3 million mp3’s at prices ranging from $.89 to $.99 and most albums from $4.99 to $9.99.

2. eMusic - You have to buy a subscription starting at $9.99 per month for 30 tracks and you won’t find any of the major label product from EMI and Universal available at Amazon and elsewhere, but after that if you like indie or niche music, at 33 cents per track or less you can’t beat the price.

3. WalMart - Yup. Wal-Mart.com. There’s no indie product available, but they’ve got lots of tracks from both EMI and Universal and most of them are priced at $.88.

4. Rhapsody - These guys do music subscriptions and streaming better than anyone else. On the DRM free download front, however, you’ll only find EMI product and a little bit of indie. But given their recent partnerships with MTV and Verizon, you can expect interesting changes ahead.

5. iTunes - In many other ways iTunes leads the pack, but not so in DRM free downloads. Sure they sell some tracks without the usual copy restrictions particularly from EMI. But there is almost no indie product and the tracks you buy are coded in a special Apple program that while “DRM free” is only designed to play within the iTunes software and on the iPod unless you burn it onto a CD.

What is your favorite place to buy DRM free downloads?

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POSTED IN: Downloads/P2P