EMI Sticks Its Toe In The Murky Waters Of MP3 Distribution
EMI is testing out its post-DRM strategy with Lily Allen’s forthcoming UK single, “Littlest Things”–users can pre-order the MP3 for 99 pence (plus an extra £1.50 for orders taken via SMS); they’ll get it on Dec. 11, along with a “making of” video and some artwork. While we have to applaud EMI for taking this hesitant first step out of the digital-rights management woods, we can’t help but wonder why they decided to delay gratification for potential buyers–particularly since this song is already available on Allen’s album. Surely anyone who would go to the trouble of ordering this single, and waiting for it, would just buy (or, cough, download) the full-length instead. Is this experiment going to test out EMI chairman Alain Levy’s theory that the CD is dead? Or is the curious distribution strategy meant to torpedo this project from the start?
Lily Allen – Home [7digital.com, via Hypebot]
