EMI Signs Dealio With SnoCap – DRM-Free Viral Explosion Forecasted
With Nothing To Lose, EMI Goes DRM-Free Viral Nuts!
EMI has announced that they have inked a deal with SNOCAP to enable United States based fans to purchase DRM-free, higher-quality MP3s by EMI artists through artist websites, social networking pages and fan blogs. EMI will have the ability to place SnoCap’s MyStores, digital storefront modules that plug into most websites – on the pages of hundreds of its artist sites, making EMI the first major record company to partner with SnoCap to sell its music in a DRM-free, higher-quality format.
Beginning this week, music from a broad range of EMI Music artists will be available for purchase via SnoCap MyStores. Downloads will be DRM-free MP3s, encoded at 320 kilobits per second, more than twice the audio quality of standard files. Artists whose tracks will be available via SnoCap MyStores at launch include 30 Seconds to Mars, The Almost, Ryland Angel, The Bird and The Bee, KORN, Joe Lovano, Dean Martin, MIMs, Relient K, Saosin, TobyMac and Yellowcard, with additional EMI artists rolling out SnoCap MyStores in coming weeks. EMI’s Blue Note Records label has also placed a SnoCap MyStore on its main website making tracks available from both catalog and current artists – everyone from Freddie Hubbard to Sonny Clark – as well as the single from the upcoming Suzanne Vega album.
The SnoCap MyStore is an easy-to-use Web-based interface and digital storefront which enables labels and artists to place a retail point of sale almost anywhere on the web. EMI’s agreement with SnoCap means fans will be able to download higher-quality DRM-free tracks without leaving the artist’s website or social networking page. SnoCap is making tracks available for $1.30, and albums will be made available via SnoCap MyStores later this year. Using SnoCap MyStores’ “Spread the word†feature, fans, music bloggers and other third party sites will also have the ability to place SnoCap MyStores from their favorite artists on their own websites.
SnoCap, the premier music technology company for direct artist-to-fan online distribution, offers a one-stop registration to allow musicians, labels and distributors to clear and manage their licensing rights across multiple retail destinations. Using sophisticated music fingerprinting technology to identify and catalog the music, SnoCap’s registry authenticates against over five million tracks.
The Future: EMI’s deal with SnoCap will untether their DRM-Free catalog from iTunes and blow it out all over the web in one clean swipe. The explosion should bring in some much needed income, good news to the kids at Terra Firma who will take over on a high note, or at least a higher note.
