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MUMBAI: Music download store eMusic is hoping the changing attitude of big music labels to copyright protection will mean their tracks could soon be available on its website.
The world`s second biggest digital music store already carries two million tracks from independent-label artists but is hoping that it will soon be able to add songs from at least one of the world`s four major labels, Sony BMG, Universal, Warner and EMI.
One of the biggest attractions of eMusic for consumers is the fact its downloads can be played on any device because they are free of the copy protection known as DRM (digital rights management.)
The music industry has generally insisted on copy protection due to a fear of piracy. But in April, the consensus was broken by EMI, which started offering DRM-free tracks in better audio quality at a higher price.
Universal, the world`s biggest music company, then said in August that it would make thousands of tracks available as digital downloads free of copying protection in a six-month experiment to test demand.
eMusic, the private equity-owned music download site became the number two in Europe almost overnight after its pan-EU launch in September 2006, taking most of its new market share from Apple`s leading iTunes store.
