7digital says DRM-free outsells by four to one

Higher quality, non protected tracks selling well

8 November 2007 13:42 GMT / By Amy-Mae Elliott

7digital.com has issued information that they say shows consumers greatly prefer their music downloads in MP3 format without the restriction of DRM.

They say that DRM-free MP3 downloads are out-selling other digital formats by almost four to one (where MP3 is offered alongside WMA).

The findings, based on sales data from www.7digital.com also found that consumers greatly prefer high-quality MP3s encoded at 320kbps rather than WMA or AAC.

7digital.com also wants to highlight that over 60% of its 3 million plus track catalogue is now available in DRM-free MP3 format and that it expects that proportion to increase to close to 100% by Summer 2008.

"Consumers are a lot savvier than some people think and overwhelmingly choose MP3 over any other format when given the choice", says Ben Drury, MD, 7digital.com.

"MP3 is the only truly interoperable format that works with the iPod, most mobile phones (including the iPhone) and all MP3 players."