Update On The Universal DRM Free Experiment

Last week we reported new chatter including from our own sources that Universal Music Group is very close to a major DRM free experiment.  Now the UK’s Times is confirming the story from it’s European contacts. And while we don’t expect any public announcements; a lot may be decided this week as company execs are rumored to be meeting with their digital team in NYC.

One Universal executive, however, went on on record last week saying the company is not considering removing DRM. "The rumor is completely untrue," said Peter LoFrumento, Senior Vice President at Universal Music Group.  (Pocket-lint via Coolfer)

The Times contradicts US stories and claims that Universal is reluctant to try its experiment with iTunes first as EMI did. This would make some sense since Universal has been the loudest major label critic of iTune’s dominance over digital distribution and publicly longed for more competition. But in the end we’re betting that iTunes will be part of a major DRM free catalog experiment across multiple download retailers.