One big question is how the DRM would work, since subscription music is obviously totally tied up, but not all players support the same DRM scheme: Zune's got its own set of chains and the iPod's got FairPlay. So they'd probably have to have player-specific subscription setups.

But here's the real problem: A subscription to a single label for $10 a month? The only way it makes any sense for consumers is if they're sitting on a fat pipe to all four of the majors, and likely, it's the only way they'll bite. And maybe still, only with Apple mojo to boot, if history's any guide. [AP; CNNMoney]

But in addition, PlayNow arena will have 5 million new songs added to their old library through agreements with Sony BMG (of course), Warner Music Group, EMI, The Orchard, IODA, The PocketGroup, Hungama, X5 Music, Bonnier Amigo and VidZone. That's a lot of music to add for a day's work...especially when you consider iTunes' library is just 6 million songs or so.

For all the details, we've posted the full press release after the jump.

Sony Ericsson expands PlayNow(TM) arena with 5 million new tracks

Signs deals with 10 major record labels to broaden content offer and bring enhanced PlayNow(TM) service to consumers

Cannes, France - 27th January - Sony Ericsson today unveiled the next stage in the evolution of PlayNow(TM) arena, its popular over-the-air (OTA) download service. At the MIDEM conference in Cannes, Sony Ericsson announced deals with 10 major record labels, adding over 5 million new tracks to its extensive catalogue. Sony Ericsson also unveiled the design and URL for PlayNow(TM) arena and launched PlayNow(TM) Uncut, (formerly M-Buzz(TM)) a music promotional space for new, unsigned and developing artists.

Record label partnerships

Today Sony Ericsson announced partnerships with 10 of the largest international and regional music labels including: Sony BMG, Warner Music Group, EMI, The Orchard, IODA, The PocketGroup, Hungama, X5 Music, Bonnier Amigo and VidZone, adding over 5 million new tracks to PlayNow(TM) arena. Sony Ericsson is currently negotiating further deals with a host of regional labels to further broaden the variety of music available and bring a wealth of localised content direct to the consumer.

Sony Ericsson introduced PlayNow(TM) in February 2004 as the easiest way to pre-listen and then purchase polyphonic ringtones directly to your phone. The service has proved a hit with consumers and is now available in 32 countries around the world, with annual free and premium downloads through both PlayNow and Fun & Downloads having reached more than 200 million. Since launch, the scope of the service has expanded to mirror the functionality of Sony Ericsson's phones to include mastertones (MP3 ringtones), games, full music tracks, themes and wallpapers. In November 2007 Sony Ericsson announced its intention to further develop its PlayNow(TM) service with PlayNow(TM) arena, offering access to a greatly expanded range of content and combining the power of the PlayNow(TM) catalogue with unique applications like TrackID(TM), which identifies songs and allows them to be downloaded directly to your phone or PC.

Speaking at the Sony Ericsson event at MIDEM in Cannes, Sony Ericsson's Executive Vice President, Anders Runevad, presented the enhanced PlayNow(TM) arena service and emphasised the importance of industry partnerships delivering digital content and an unparalleled multimedia experience:

"We are delighted to announce deals with such high calibre record labels. This will help realise our vision for PlayNow(TM) arena as a service that will be developed in collaboration with our partners. Our commitment is to work with the industry to ensure we are building an experience-based and intuitive content delivery platform, enabling the development of an ecosystem that provides a unique experience for the consumer and a business model where everybody prospers."

With mobile games remaining a key focus, Sony Ericsson has also added 250 new games through existing deals with leading games manufactures such as EA Games, Gameloft, THQ, Glu, Digital Chocolate and I-Play. Sony Ericsson users download more games to their phones than users of any other mobile phone brand*. These deals take another step in cementing its number one position in the mobile games market.

PlayNow(TM) Uncut

PlayNow(TM) Uncut (previously know as M-BUZZ(TM)) is a pro motional space for breaking new and emerging artists via Sony Ericsson's product, content and marketing channels. PlayNow(TM) Uncut showcases selected, pre viously unreleased tracks, videos, artwork, interviews, tour dates and other artist information on Sony Ericsson mobile phones and the web at www.playnow-uncut.com.

The rebranding and alignment with PlayNow(TM) opens up new channel opportunities for artists and enables the site to target consumers worldwide, including the United States of America for the first time. With an international reach, the service has always been about presenting the best new talents from around the world, whatever their style or native language. Apart from the current streaming possibilities, the highest rated and most listened to tracks will be made available for sale in the music section of PlayNow(TM) arena. For artists, this will add revenue possibilities to the already extensive promotional benefits of appearing there.

One Arena. Unlimited experiences

"The PlayNow(TM) arena is an open environment that offers something for everyone. We see PlayNow(TM) Uncut as the edgy version, whilst the PlayNow(TM) music section is more a case of familiarity, giving consumers something they know and are already comfortable with. Consumer experience is our absolute priority and we will continue to develop PlayNow(TM) arena as a service that appeals to all consumer segments and lifestyle trends," said Martin Blomkvist, Head of Content Acquisition & Management at Sony Ericsson.

The PlayNow(TM) arena will be brought directly to the consumer at: www.playnow-arena.com

The PlayNow(TM) arena will launch in Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland in May 2008 with more European markets to come at the end of Q2 2008 and further expansion in Europe, Americas and Asia during Q3 and Q4. Sony Ericsson predicts that the PlayNow(TM) arena will be active in close to 30 markets by the end of 2008.

TrackID(TM)

The growth in popularity of the TrackID(TM) application has rocketed around the globe, presently recording more than 200,000 hits per day equal to more than two each second, a figure that has doubled in the last three months. TrackID(TM) will be an integral part of the PlayNow(TM) arena experience, offering an instant way to first hear a track - for example, in a coffee shop or on the radio - and then get it to your phone and PC. The PlayNow(TM) arena itself will feature TrackID(TM) Charts, created by consumers in real time using TrackID(TM) around the world. This will allow consumers to see what songs other users are searching for and wanting to hear the most, both globally and in their own market.

Sony Ericsson at Midem 2008

Sony Ericsson will be showcasing its PlayNow(TM) arena music store as well as demonstrating its latest handsets and accessories at booth R31.01 at Midem 2008 in Cannes, France.

Amazon MP3 has the only digital music catalogue that offers DRM-free tunes from all four major labels, with around 3.3 million tracks in the library, they are packing some weight. If that fact doesn't have Apple quaking in their boots, the competitive pricing should. We couldn't care less how Amazon and Apple get down and dirty, but as they are bound to be set for a fight, teeth gnashing and all, it can only mean good things for customers. DRM-free music will have a bigger global presence, and that should solidify its worth in the consumer market. Also, the ensuing price war is not going to be too bad either. After all, iTunes surely cannot keep their offerings priced above the competition, whilst simultaneously offering DRM gimped and comparatively expensive ($1.29), DRM-free tracks. It's about to get interesting—watch this space. [Amazon]

Monday, in fact, is the day the service goes live, and we cannot hold our wee we're so excited. Initially, only Windows Vista and XP will be supported, but the Macboys and girls see some action on March 18th.

The system will work by tracking all downloads, royalties will then be issued accordingly. It isn't too clear how that revenue will be generated, but expect some anal advertising to bombard a PC near you if you do give it a whirl. Still, we can't help our cynical judgement chiming in—how did Noah get two of every species on a wooden boat? He didn't—do you know what I mean? Nevertheless, we wait and hope for a legal, free, P2P music service, but we think eternal world peace is a little more likely by Monday. [Boy Genius Reports]

AMAZON MP3 TO ADD DRM-FREE DOWNLOADS FROM SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT

With the addition of SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT later this month, Amazon MP3 will be the only retailer to offer customers DRM-free MP3 downloads from all four major music labels

SEATTLE—January 10, 2008—Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) today announced that DRM-free MP3 music downloads from SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT will be available to customers on Amazon MP3, Amazon's DRM-free MP3 digital music store where every song is playable on virtually any digital music-capable device, including PCs, Macs®, iPod®, Zune®, Zen®, iPhone™, RAZR™ and BlackBerry®. When SONY BMG is added later this month, Amazon MP3 will be the only retailer to offer customers DRM-free MP3s from all four major music labels, as well as over 33,000 independent labels. Amazon MP3 customers will discover DRM-free MP3s from SONY BMG's vast rosters of artists representing virtually every genre of music.

"We are excited to offer Amazon MP3 customers DRM-free MP3s from SONY BMG, which represents many of the most popular musicians from the past and present," said Bill Carr, Amazon.com Vice President for Digital Music. "Our Amazon MP3 customers will be able to choose from a full selection of DRM-free music downloads from all four major labels and over 33,000 independents that they can play on virtually any music-capable device."

"We are excited to be working with Amazon as they continue to build new markets for digital music," commented Thomas Hesse, President, Global Digital Business & U.S. Sales, SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT. "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."

Launched in September 2007, Amazon MP3 offers Earth's Biggest Selection of a la carte DRM-free MP3 music downloads, which now includes over 3.1 million songs from more than 270,000 artists. Every song and album in the Amazon MP3 music download store is available exclusively in the MP3 format without digital rights management (DRM) software and is encoded at 256 Kbps to deliver high audio quality. Amazon MP3 customers are free to enjoy their music downloads using any hardware device, including PCs, Macs®, iPod®, Zune®, Zen®, iPhone™, RAZR™ and BlackBerry®; organize their music using any music management application such as iTunes® or Windows Media Player™; and burn songs to CDs for personal use.

Most songs available on Amazon MP3 are priced from 89 cents to 99 cents, with more than 1 million of the over 3.1 million songs priced at 89 cents. The top 100 bestselling songs are 89 cents, unless marked otherwise. Most albums are priced from $5.99 to $9.99. The top 100 bestselling albums are $8.99 or less, unless marked otherwise. Buying and downloading MP3s from Amazon MP3 is easy. Customers can purchase downloads using Amazon 1-Click shopping, and with the Amazon MP3 Downloader, seamlessly add their MP3s to their iTunes® or Windows Media Player™ libraries.

We've been saying for a while DRM has cancer (is a cancer?), dying a long, drawn out death—cue Frucci's "DRM Deathwatch" meme. EMI's move was characterized as a desperate ploy by the weakest label—hence, it ran with iTunes, something we've been told the other labels wouldn't have even sniffed at because of the dreaded iTunes hegemony (more on that in a sec).

But then Universal, the biggest label in the world, jumped. In large part to cut at iTunes, true. Regardless, the tide had turned. Warner and Sony BMG were wary holdouts. After Warner joined the party, Sony BMG really had little choice—it pretty much had to go open or go home, so we've been expecting this.

It's no surprise Sony is throwing in with Amazon, either. Again, the fear of an iTunes paradigm is very real among the labels—if the last 10 years have taught us anything, they crave control more than money—and Amazon is in the best position to compete with iTunes. Especially now that it has something very powerful that iTMS doesn't—DRM-free tracks from every major label.

The online music market just got a whole lot more interesting. [Business Week]

Considering that content is still limited to an artist's page, this content sharing isn't completely open ended, even within the smallish confines of the MySpace network. Nonetheless, it's a progressive move by Sony, a company that is usually tighter with their media than a [fill in perverted orifice of choice belonging to religious position of preference]. How deals like this will tie in with rumors of Sony's upcoming distribution plan, however, are unknown. [japantoday]

According to BusinessWeek, it works like this:

[Total Music will] get hardware makers or cell carriers to absorb the cost of a roughly $5-per-month subscription fee so consumers get a device with all-you-can-eat music that's essentially free. Music companies would collect the subscription fee, while hardware makers theoretically would move many more players.

Thanks for clearing that up, Jennifer. It's nice to know I "stole" the wallet of copied CDs in my car, which I burned from my purchased discs precisely because I'm paranoid about the real set I paid for getting jacked. Guess that also makes the multiple copies of tracks I have spread across multiple computers dirty, thieved contraband. Raise your hand, fellow criminals. [Ars via Consumerist, Image via Flickr]

The thing is, iTunes is kind of a crappy "control" in this little experiment if the only variable being tested is the presence of DRM, because its sales dwarf every other store in the test. Moreover, Universal's buying AdWords to drive traffic to the DRM-free downloads, throwing in yet another variable. It doesn't line up very well with the scientific method I was taught in high school.

Reading between the lines, it seems clear that what's really being tested isn't DRM-free downloads, it's the non-iTunes market—is it possible to really move digital music without the iTunes/iPod machine?—and Universal's ability to flex its atrophying muscles.

EMI's move to DRM-free tracks months ago was dismissed by some as a risky and desperate play, a sign of its weakness as the smallest label of the Big Four—its shareholders recently approved its sale to a private equity firm. Universal, on the other hand, is the biggest label in the world.

That doesn't mean it's not a sign of weakness. iTunes isn't the only store that's not a part of the test: None of the participating outlets have hardware linked to it. If iTunes was the only control here, why isn't Zune a part of the game? Where's eMusic for that matter? Universal looks like its angling to promiscuitize the digital music market—make the same music easily available from many sources that will play on any device—in order to make labels still matter, and stave off its own impending irrelevance.

The broader, more positive take on the move—which isn't necessarily divorced from the other one—is that the industry is beginning to realize they don't have a choice: DRM-free is the only way to really spur the digital music market, and ultimately for them to even hope to generate the kind of revenue they used to. This rosier outlook would include, in our opinion, Universal selling DRM-free music on iTunes at some point in the future.

Will the two remaining Big Four labels follow suit and explore DRM-free downloads? Undoubtedly, this as much of a test for Warner and Sony BMG as it is for Universal. If Universal pulls the plug in January (and Sony and Warner will know before we do), probably not, unless they're looking for an edge against the competition. If this test becomes policy, it seems safe to say that left with little choice, the others will fall in line in short order.

From there, the real question is the iTunes question: What are the labels going to do about it?

Universal's full press release:

CHART-TOPPING HITS MARK OPEN-MP3 TEST BY UNIVERSAL MUSIC GROUP (UMG)
MARKET LEADER REMOVES DRM PROTECTION IN THOUSANDS OF TITLES DURING TEST
PARTICIPANTS INCLUDE GOOGLE, BEST BUY, RHAPSODY, AMAZON.COM, WAL-MART & PURETRACKS, AMONG OTHERS

New York, New York...Universal Music Group (UMG), the world's leading music company, today announced that it is continuing the testing of digital sales of tracks and albums without digital rights management (DRM) by making thousands of its albums and tracks available from its digital repertoire in MP3 form without DRM enabling, for a limited time.

"Universal Music Group is committed to exploring new ways to expand the availability of our artists' music online, while offering consumers the most choice in how and where they purchase and enjoy our music," stated Doug Morris, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of UMG. "This test, which is a continuation of a series of tests that UMG began conducting earlier in the year, will provide valuable insights into the implications of selling our music in an open format."

As UMG's most comprehensive and extensive testing to date, the experiment will run from August to January and analyze such factors as consumer demand, price sensitivity and piracy in regards to the availability of open MP3s.

MP3s can be played on a full range of devices including dedicated MP3 players, mobile phones and the iPod. Regardless of the outcome of these tests, UMG will continue to support innovative digital models such as subscription and ad-supported services which rely on DRM as an enabling technology.

Albums and tracks that will be available during this test run the gamut from artists such as Amy Winehouse, Fall Out Boy, 50 Cent, Black Eyed Peas, Daddy Yankee, Mika, The Pussycat Dolls, Gwen Stefani, Maroon 5, Dr. Dre, Don Omar, Sting, Sugarland, Diana Krall, Paulina Rubio, Shania Twain, Nelly and Prince, to Bing Crosby, Elvis Costello, Reba McEntire, Count Basie, Dizzy Gillespie, Stevie Wonder, Johnny Cash and Patsy Cline, among many others.

Participants including Google, Wal-Mart, Best Buy Digital Music Store, Rhapsody, Transworld, Passalong Networks, Amazon.com and Puretracks, will offer downloads to consumers in the DRM-free audio format of their choice in a variety of bit rates. For the most part, the DRM free downloads will be offered at standard wholesale prices.

As part of this test, Universal will also be driving traffic to DRM-free downloads using Google's AdWords(tm) advertising program. Google ads will connect consumers directly to digital retailer gBox, Inc. (www.gbox.com) download store making the search and buying process as simple as possible. Because many consumers are searching for music and music related news and information online, Google is a powerful way to drive consumers to this test.

In addition, DRM-free downloads will also be available through artist and label-branded websites, including will.i.am.com, sum41.com, evefans.com, www.common-music.com, ryan-adams.com, blaqkaudio.com, dianakrall.com, sectionquartet.com, as well as defjam.com, islandrecords.com and classicsandjazz.co.uk, among many others.

One unnamed record exec actually admits that "EMI struck a deal that puts all of us at a disadvantage." More interesting is the exec's subsequent nugget that "If Universal goes, then everyone has to follow." Reuters hints that Universal is in fact contemplating a DRM-free partnership with...Amazon. The labels are clearly wary of the monster 100 million-selling iPod/iTunes machine.

Given that Apple has the upper hand here—one that seems to be getting stronger—and will probably be taking from the labels at the negotiating table rather than giving, why has "there has even been talk of [the labels] getting a cut of sales of iPods themselves"? It's never going to happen. Ever.

If "privately, executives accept that following EMI's move it is only a matter of time" why not go ahead and make the move and start chalking up more sales online now, rather than later? It would be in their best interest to take the initiative while they still wield a fair amount of bargaining power—Steve smells weakness, and if they crawl back later, he's going to take them for the ride of their lives. – Matt Buchanan

Apple seen having upper hand in music negotiations [Reuters via Mac Rumors]

For its part, Apple's saying that they too, wants identical pricing across the continent from the very bottom of its heart, but those damn record labels won't let them. Where have we heard that before?

To cut them some slack though, as Ars does, dealing with legal labyrinths that cut across national borders undoubtedly causes quite the headache, and practically it would probably be easier for Apple to just offer one store for everyone, regardless of location, simply slightly localized. So we'll take Apple at their word, for now. – Matt Buchanan

EU investigating Apple, Big Four labels over country-specific pricing [Ars Technica]