Sony BMG Drops DRM, Amazon MP3 The Sole Provider Of DRM-Free MP3s From Majors

Sony BMG became the last of the Big 4 Record Companies to drop DRM from their digital catalog today. Sony BMG entered an agreement with Amazon's MP3 Store to sell DRM-free mp3s. Sony announced previously that they would release 37 specific albums as digital downloads, but this new agreement "represents a broad acceptance of the MP3 format by Sony BMG, which up until now, had been the major deemed the most resistant to abandon the concept of music protected by digital rights management software" according to Billboard's report. The same report in Billboard showed Sony BMG's excitement for the new deal with a quote from the company's Thomas Hesse:

"We are excited to be working with Amazon as they continue to build new markets for digital music," said Sony BMG Music Entertainment global digital business & U.S. sales president Thomas Hesse. "We are constantly exploring new ways of making our music available to consumers in the physical space, over the Internet and through mobile phones, and this initiative is the newest element of our ongoing campaign to bring our music to fans wherever they happen to be."

Hypebot also has a great article on the new development that points out how significant this is for Amazon MP3:

This makes Amazon MP3 the only retailer to offer DRM free tracks from every major record label as well as 33,000 indie labels. Sources tell Hypebot that other download stores will begin selling DRM free product from all four majors before the end of the first quarter of the year.

Read more at hypebot and Billboard.com