Starting today, Warner Music songs are now available on the Amazon MP3 music store, in DRM-free formats and at prices competitive to what iTunes charges. According to Reuters, Amazon has now reached “deals with music labels Universal Music Group, part of Vivendi, and EMI. The remaining major recording group, Sony BMG Music Entertainment, has yet to offer its songs for the service.” Sony BMG, you guys are very, very old dorks.

Customers “can feel confident” their songs will play on whatever music device they buy in 2008, said Pete Baltaxe, Amazon’s director of digital music.

“We’re very pleased with where we are,” Baltaxe said of customer adoption of the music service, though he would not provide data on downloads to date or site traffic.

U.S. album sales were down 14 percent in late November from a year earlier, according to Nielsen SoundScan data, as a growing number of fans buy individual songs online or use free file-sharing.

Digital music revenue has been growing in the double-digit percentages, but the total take is not enough to make up for the shortfall in compact disc sales.

“Amazon adds Warner Music tunes to download service” [Reuters]
(Photo: Getty)

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