Microsoft to Drop Music DRM

History repeats itself as Microsoft once again follows Apple’s lead, opening itself to dropping DRM from online music sales.

Microsoft’s apparent change of heart on selling DRM-free music came in response to Apple’s deal earlier in the week to sell unprotected content from recording company EMI Group PLC. The company previously claimed that DRM was necessary for current and emerging digital media business models.

“The EMI announcement on Monday was not exclusive to Apple,” said Katy Asher, a Microsoft spokeswoman on the Zune team, in an e-mail to the IDG News Service today. She said Microsoft has been talking with EMI and other record labels “for some time now” about offering unprotected music on its Zune players in an effort to meet the needs of its customers.

“Consumers have made it clear that unprotected music is something they want,” Asher said. “We plan on offering it to them as soon as our label partners are comfortable with it.”

Then again, maybe Bill Gates was just waiting for a precedent to change the company line.

Last year, an interview with Techcrunch, Bill Gates expressed his opinions about said that the current DRM technologies are too complicated for regular users and they are better off purchasing music CDs and ripping the music from them for listening on computers and portable music players.

According to Michael Arrington of TechCrunch, Gates noted that DRM “causes too much pain for legitimate buyers” and overall is not an effective solution. He went on to say that “DRM is not where it should be, but you won’t get me to say that there should be usage models and different payment models for usage. At the end of the day, incentive systems do make a difference, but we don’t have it right with incentives or interoperability.”

Whether or not Bill’s just copying Steve again, this is good for both consumers who know their choices and record labels who have a clue. The death of DRM is at hand.

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