Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) today announced it will launch a digital music
store later this year offering millions of songs in the DRM-free MP3
format from more than 12,000 record labels. EMI Music's
digital catalog is the latest addition to the store. Every song and
album in the Amazon.com digital music store will be available
exclusively in the MP3 format without digital rights management (DRM)
software. Amazon's DRM-free MP3s will free
customers to play their music on virtually any of their personal devices ?
including PCs, Macs?, iPods?,
Zunes?, Zens? ?
and to burn songs to CDs for personal use.
?Our MP3-only strategy means all the music
that customers buy on Amazon is always DRM-free and plays on any device,?
said Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com founder and CEO. ?We're
excited to have EMI joining us in this effort and look forward to
offering our customers MP3s from amazing artists like Coldplay, Norah
Jones and Joss Stone.?
?Amazon.com is known around the world for the
unique experience it offers music customers through features such as
customer reviews and personalized recommendations,?
said Eric Nicoli, EMI CEO. ?They have been an
important retail partner of ours, and we are delighted they will be
offering consumers EMI's new premium DRM-free
downloads in their new digital music store. We think having a trusted
destination like Amazon.com offer a high-quality digital music product
that will play across a number of devices gives consumers more options
and will be a significant boost for the overall digital music market.?
About Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc., (NASDAQ: AMZN), a Fortune 500 company based in
Seattle, opened on the World Wide Web in July 1995 and today offers Earth's
Biggest Selection. Amazon.com, Inc. seeks to be Earth's
most customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover
anything they might want to buy online, and endeavors to offer its
customers the lowest possible prices. Amazon.com and other sellers offer
millions of unique new, refurbished and used items in categories such as
health and personal care, jewelry and watches, gourmet food, sports and
outdoors, apparel and accessories, books, music, DVDs, electronics and
office, toys and baby, and home and garden.
Amazon and its affiliates operate websites, including www.amazon.com,
www.amazon.co.uk, www.amazon.de,
www.amazon.co.jp, www.amazon.fr,
www.amazon.ca, and www.joyo.com.
As used herein, "Amazon.com," "we," "our" and similar terms include
Amazon.com, Inc., and its subsidiaries, unless the context indicates
otherwise.
Amazon.com Forward-Looking Statements
This announcement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning
of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Actual results may differ significantly
from management's expectations. These
forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that include,
among others, risks related to competition, management of growth, new
products, services and technologies, potential fluctuations in operating
results, international expansion, outcomes of legal proceedings and
claims, fulfillment center optimization, seasonality, commercial
agreements, acquisitions and strategic transactions, foreign exchange
rates, system interruption, significant amount of indebtedness,
inventory, government regulation and taxation, payments and fraud. More
information about factors that potentially could affect Amazon.com's
financial results is included in Amazon.com's
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its
Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2006, and all
subsequent filings.
