MusicNet, the music unit of the leading digital entertainment services provider MediaNet Digital, announced that it will make more than one million DRM-free tracks available to its partners in the third quarter. MusicNet has forged partnerships with EMI Music as well as several leading independent labels including Righteous Babe, Nettwerk, Madacy, Nitro and the labels represented by Digital Music Group, Inc. (DMGI), the Digital Rights Agency (DRA) and the Independent Recording Industry Services (IRIS) for their entire digital music catalogs. MusicNet will make the tracks available for distribution in the MP3 format at a higher sound quality.
“Interoperability has been a sore spot for the digital music industry since inception and continues to grow as devices become more widely used,” said Alan McGlade, President and CEO of MediaNet Digital. “The digital music industry has been built on the appeal of the MP3 format – an open, standardized format which is usable on every digital music player, desktop computer, electronic device and gaming system. The music labels making these first million tracks available for unencrypted download will help fuel alternative mechanisms of accessing digital music giving consumers a choice in how they interact with their music.”
“MusicNet is an important distribution partner for us and we are pleased they will make EMI’s digital catalog in DRM-free, higher quality offering available to the great brands they power,” said Lauren Berkowitz, Senior Vice President, EMI Music North America. “It’s an important step forward that will put more music in reach of fans in formats that will allow them to enjoy what they purchase on a range of devices.”
Just last week MusicNet unveiled its rebranding and name change to MediaNet Digital, reflecting expanded content offerings such as music videos, television and feature film. MusicNet will continue to be the repository of the company’s digital music service initiatives. MusicNet provides the back- end technology and content, including a catalog of 4.5 million audio tracks, to top digital music services. MusicNet’s technology platform that its partners utilize for their digital music services has been built to scale for non-DRM files, which will speed up the time to market for content companies that choose to utilize the unencrypted offering.
