Andre Yoskowitz
9 Jul 2008 13:20
The music download store 7digital.com is reporting that since the introduction of DRM-free music from the labels Warner and EMI, sales have skyrocketed over 300 percent propelling the site into second place behind Apple iTunes as the UK's biggest digital retailer.
Year on year download sales were up 300 percent for the year ended June 30th 2008, with CEO Ben Drury adding, “High-quality, DRM-free MP3 downloads have really sparked a new wave of digital music take up.”
Drury also notes that the MP3 format offers superior compatibility to DRM-crippled WMA files or Apple's use of AAC and for that reason, many users are moving to the site.
80 percent of 7digital.com’s catalog is now DRM-free, (representing over 3 million songs) leading Drury to add, “It is now clear that MP3 downloads represent the future for digital music. With two of the four major labels now supporting MP3 in the UK, we expect to see the whole market supporting MP3 in the not-too-distant future.”