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RECORD LABELS THINKING ABOUT UNRESTRICTED DIGITAL MUSIC

VICTORIA SHANNON, NY TIMES - As even digital music revenue growth
falters because of rampant file-sharing by consumers, the major record
labels are moving closer to releasing music on the Internet with no
copying restrictions - a step they once vowed never to take. Executives
of several technology companies meeting at Midem, the annual global
trade fair for the music industry, said over the weekend that at least
one of the four major record companies could move toward the sale of
unrestricted digital files in the MP3 format within months. Most
independent record labels already sell tracks digitally compressed in
the MP3 format, which can be downloaded, e-mailed or copied to
computers, cellphones, portable music players and compact discs without
limit.

The independents see providing songs in MP3 partly as a way of
generating publicity that could lead to future sales. For the major
recording companies, however, selling in the MP3 format would be a
capitulation to the power of the Internet, which has destroyed their
control over the worldwide distribution of music.

Until last year, the industry was counting on online purchases of music,
led by Apple's iTunes music store, to make up the difference.
But digital sales in 2006, while 80 percent ahead of the year before,
grew slower than in 2005 and did not compensate for the decline in
physical sales, according to an industry report released in London last
week.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/23/technology/23music.html?ex=1327208400&en=
bf7173ca00417250&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss


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