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August 21, 2008 8:17:20 AM CDT

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Universal Thumbs Nose at Apple

Posted Aug 11, 07 9:40 AM CDT in Business,  Technology,  Arts & Living 

(Newser) – Universal Music will ditch the anti-piracy software on music it sells through most outlets, making it easy—but still illegal—to copy its tunes. In what one analyst calls “a bold-faced move to blunt Apple’s influence,” the plan conspicuously excludes iTunes. The company says Apple is a “control group” in its study of piracy, the LA Times reports.

Universal will monitor downloads through January, testing suspicions that digital rights management software curbs sales more than illegal file sharing. The label of artists ranging from Amy Winehouse to Fifty Cent to Johnny Cash is the second major after EMI to offer protection-free music. If results are good, the other top players are likely to follow suit.

Source Los Angeles Times

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Amy Winehouse performs at Lollapalooza at Grant Park in Chicago on Sunday, Aug. 5, 2007. The three-day festival, headlined by Pearl Jam, includes 130 bands. (AP Photo/Brian Kersey)   (Associated Press)
CD Piracy Prevention   (Getty Images)
An Apple customer uses an Apple iPod at an Apple store in Palo Alto, Calif., Tuesday, April 24, 2007. Apple Inc., on a tear with its popular iPod players and Macintosh computers, is expected to report...   (Associated Press)
Compact Discs   (Archive Photos)
The Johnny Cash box music set.   (KRT Photos)
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Internet  • Apple  • music  • iTunes  • file sharing  • music label  • piracy  • Universal Music Group  • EMI


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