EMI band beat Apple to first DRM-Free downloads

5 April 2007 10:20 GMT / By Stuart Miles

Can't wait for Apple to start offering DRM free tracks? Well no sooner has the company announced that it will be offering copyright protection free EMI tracks has The Good, The Bad & The Queen has pipped them to it, albeit with just the one album: its own.

"Green Fields" the latest single and the full album are now available to download direct from the the bands website, allowing fans instant access to the band's material, while the DRM-free format gives fans the option of choosing to play the music across a range of devices and platforms, including digital music players, mobile phones and home music systems.

The announcement of the EMI Music and Apple deal in EMI's London headquarters on Monday 2nd April was preceded by a special performance by the band.

Apple's iTunes will be the first online music store to receive EMI's premium 256kbps MP3 downloads, an audio quality indistinguishable from the original recording, however song downloaded from the online store will only be available in the ACC format, not supported by many MP3 players.

Full tags

Audio, Online, Music downloads, EMI, Apple