Downloads site 7digital introduced digital rights-free MP3s earlier this year, and now reports the format accounts for 78% of sales on the site. 7digital says its customers preferred the format over Apple's proprietary AAC format and over Windows' Media files.
The site stocks 3m tracks and 60% of those are now DRM free, though that is expected to increase to 100% by next Summer.
Album bundles also did well, accounting for 70% of MP3 downloads by value. That's a very different story than the wider picture for the music industry, which has notoriously suffered from the "unbundling" of albums led by Apple's iTunes.
FYI, Roisin Murphy, the Pet Shop Boys and Radiohead were the most downloaded MP3s last month.
Ultimately, it's no suprise that users prefer DRM-free downloads, because their tracks from PC to Mac to mobile freely. It is nonsense to try and lock a consumer in to one file format, and EMI did very well to recognise the strength of feeling among consumers about that. Bring it on.
Source: Release
