The New York Times has an article today detailing the MIDEM music industry conference, and are reporting that at least 4 major record companies “could move toward the sale of unrestricted digital files in the MP3 format within months.”

Publicly, music company executives say their systems for limiting copies are a way to fairly compensate artists and other copyright holders who contribute to the creation of music.

But privately, there are signs of a new appreciation in the industry for unrestricted copies, which could be sold as singles or through subscription services or made freely available on Internet sites that support advertising….
In a handful of European countries, especially in France, consumer frustration has led to government proposals to legislate interoperability.

“There is a groundswell, and I say that on the basis of private conversations,” said Rob Glaser, chief executive of RealNetworks, which sells digital music protected against piracy through the Rhapsody subscription service.

“It will happen between next year and five years from now, but it is more likely to be in one to two years,” he said.

Promising news about record companies? Seriously? —MEGHANN MARCO

Record Labels Contemplate Unrestricted Digital Music [NYT via BoingBoing]

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