Sony BMG Planning DRM-Free Music Service?

Sony BMG's CEO says the company is working on an online music subscription service that would be compatible with "all" music players.

In an interview with German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (German), Sony BMG CEO Rolf Schmidt-Holtz sais that his company is working on an online music subscription service that would give subscribers unlimited access to music for a flat monthly fee—and be compatible with a wide range of personal media players, including Apple’s ubiquitous iPod.

To many industry watchers’ ears, that sounds like Sony is planning a DRM-free subscription music server, since the only DRM scheme Apple’s iPods support is Apple’s own FairPlay…which the company has never licensed.

Schmidt-Holtz did not offer any information on when such a service might debut, but did speculate that a flat rate of €6 to 8 ($9 to $12) a month would be the “simplest” option. He also mentioned a possible option whereby users “could keep some songs indefinitely” even is their subscriptions to the service expire.

Schmidt-Holtz also confirmed Sony was discussing the possible service with other music distributors—raising the possibility the service would not be limited to solely Sony BMG artists—but declined to offer details. Schmidt-Holtz did speculate about bring mobile phone operators on board as partners, with the idea that cell phone users could subscribe to the service.

Sony previously operated Sony Connect, an online music service which offered DRM-protected music in Sony’s own ATRAC format. Sony shut down the service in mid-2007. Sony BMG is a 50-50 venture between Sony Music Entertainment and Bertelsmann Music Group. In 2005, Sony BMG was the center of considerable controversy over two copy-protection schemes it embedded in audio CDs in an effort to deter piracy; vulnerabilities in the software eventually caused the company to pull the CDs off the market, issue custoemrs refunds, and agree not to engage in similar practices for a period of three years. The company acknowledged it violated federal law by not informing consumers the CDs contained digital rights management software.