When we last compared Wal-Mart's MP3 store to Amazon's, only Universal and EMI had gone DRM-free, and Wal-Mart still stocked tunes locked down with Windows Media DRM. Now Wal-Mart's store is completely DRM-sanitized, but their saber rattling to Sony and Warner for DRM-less music has gone ignored, so they're not selling any tracks from those labels (outside of Neil Diamond). Topping it off, despite the platform-agnosticness of MP3, the store still only really works in Internet Exploder. Not a good spot for Wally World.

After all, since then, iTunes has passed even Wal-Mart's massive moving power in its B&M stores to become the US's biggest music retailer. Plus, all Big Four have already signed on with Amazon for DRM-free music, making it the no. 2 digital retailer. At this point, they've either gotta step up or step aside. [Listening Post]

Send an email to matt buchanan, the author of this post, at .