EMI Toes DRM-Free Waters, Offers Norah Jones MP3 Single

From digitalmusicnews.com

EMI is now offering a Norah Jones single in the open MP3 format, a monumental step for the label. The ultra-popular jazz pop singer is positioning the unrestricted single, "Thinking About You," on Yahoo Music, a move that bucks longtime label thinking on protection. The development also follows a lengthy campaign by Yahoo Music executive David Goldberg, who has tirelessly rallied against the use of digital rights management on music files. "Most people believe they can get enough value from what they get for free," Goldberg said during an executive forum in Los Angeles earlier this year.

Norah Jones, signed to the legendary Blue Note label, part of the EMI family, isn’t the only major label artist to experiment with MP3s. Christian rockers Relient K are also tossing a DRM-free single onto Yahoo, and Jessica Simpson started the trend in late June by offering name-customized MP3 tracks. The change of format means open access to the iPod, a critical change for consumers. Now, expect EMI - and other majors - to closely watch the numbers, and ratchet up the experimentation if early gains are realized. Meanwhile, the move largely validates the business model of eMusic, a company that has been offering an MP3-based independent artist catalog for years. eMusic has sold approximately 100 million downloads over the past three years.

..... about time! :-)