Not everyone was getting excited at Play.com’s DRM-free big four music fest this morning. Ben Drury, CEO of 7Digital says they’ve been offering the same deal and more for over a month.
Upon hearing of Play.com’s musical mega deal, Drury was quick to point out who was first to the beat.
“We’d like to congratulate PlayDigital in following us to offer consumers 100% DRM free MP3 music from the four major labels. We announced on September 16th that we were the first in Europe to achieve this.”
Ouch! Not only that, but he goes on to say they do it cheaper too.
“We have to point out that their claim to offer the best prices on MP3 downloads are inaccurate – 7digital.com offers tracks starting at 50p and MP3 albums from £2 from artists including Queen, The Magic Numbers, We Are Scientists and Sigur Rós.”
Things are certainly hotting up in the DRM-free war zone. In a bit of a side swipe Drury also mentioned that 7digital even has more tracks than Play, but insists they are welcomed with open arms.
“We were the first to offer DRM free music, we are the cheapest out there and we are first to offer over four million tracks from major and independent labels. PlayDigital only has three million. We welcome PlayDigital to the MP3 market and this should further help consumers realise that there are better digital music services out there than iTunes.” He said.
Now now, what would Steve Jobs say to all that? The DRM-free gauntlet has truly been hurled.
Where do you grab your tunes? Is Apple doing enough? Is it time to ditch iTunes for good? Let us know in the comments section below!
Out now | from 50p | 7digital
