If you follow new technologies for the digital distribution and access of music, you’ve undoubtedly come across the name Spotify. In recent months, the Sweden-based service — which offers a deep catalog of high quality streaming audio via a rock-solid and intuitive desktop client — has racked up the press mentions on both sides of the Atlantic. Spotify’s Daniel Ek will be presenting at the Future of Music Policy Summit 2009 (Georgetown University, Washington, DC, Oct. 4-6). Reserve your spot now! read more

DRM

Apple Debuts Unprotected Songs Online
Apple begins selling DRM-free songs from EMI on Itunes; songs downloaded from iTunes will play on other digital music players for the first time.
by May Wong, Associated Press, May 31, 2007

Amazon Store to Sell Music Free of Copy Protection
Amazon.com plans to launch a digital music store later this year. Their MP3-only strategy, says founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, "means all the music that customers buy on Amazon is always DRM-free and plays on any device."
Billboard.biz, May 16, 2007 read more

The New York Times Magazine had an interesting piece over the weekend on how musicians are building new distribution networks and fan bases via the Internet.

The piece kicks off by profiling Jonathan Coulton, a former computer programmer and unsigned Brooklyn indie artist who is making a "reasonable middle class living" by selling CDs and music downloads via his web site, iTunes, and CD Baby. Coulton built a fan base by recording a song a week for all of 2006 and then posting them on his blog. They ranged from odes to Tom Cruise ("Tom Cruise Crazy") to pieces about the dead-end life of a programmer ("Code Monkey"). read more

Another day, another major blow to DRM. EMI and Apple just announced a deal to distribute the label’s music via the iTunes web site without DRM. This is a significant move because the major labels had expressed a strong commitment to DRM (although there had been some signs of fraying recently — see the SNOCAP posting below). There are several basic technological questions that have not been answered, but it appears a sea change is in the works on the DRM front.

iTunes will begin selling the DRM free tracks in May and other music download sites will follow thereafter. The price for the tracks will be $1.29, instead of the usual $.99. The sound you hear may be the other majors scrambling to follow.