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Wal-Mart Ditches DRM, Keeps Censorship

Posted by Zonk on from the step-in-the-right-direction dept.

Smiley Face writes "Wal-Mart has hopped on the DRM-free bandwagon with today's announcement that it will be participating in Universal's DRM-free sales pilot. The quality looks good: 256Kbps MP3 for 94 cents apiece, but customers are likely to be turned off by the retail chain's continued censorship. 'It's a bit hard to believe that all the customers who shop at the world's largest retailer want censored versions of music, though, but that's what they get. Only edited versions of albums with parental advisories are available, just as they are in Wal-Mart's offline stores. This isn't a new policy; Wal-Mart's online music store has carried only edited versions for years, but it's worth pointing out to potential new users tempted by the lower prices and lack of DRM.'"

3 of 455 comments (clear)

  1. Is is disclosed? by Rude+Turnip · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Does Wal-mart at least label their CDs in retail stores and disclose in their online store that the songs are edited versions? The politics of it aside, as long as they are upfront about selling edited versions of songs, then I have no problem with it. However, if they are not being honest about selling songs that aren't the "real" ones, then that is plain deceptive.

    --
    Bill Clinton: Pimp we can believe in. - The Shirt!!!
  2. I'd buy that for a dollar. by DoofusOfDeath · · Score: 4, Interesting

    'It's a bit hard to believe that all the customers who shop at the world's largest retailer want censored versions of music, though, but that's what they get

    I doubt all customers want any particular product or service. The more important question is whether or not enough want this product in order for it to be worth offering.

    Speaking for myself, I do want this service. The absence of crude songs is completely irrelevant to me because I wouldn't want them anyway. Your mileage may vary, of course.

  3. Very Competitive: Walmart wins 3 of 4 by Future+Linux-Guru · · Score: 4, Interesting

    MP3 vs AAC
    256kbp vs. 256kbp
    "censored" vs. "non-censored"
    94 cents vs #1.29

    For those who care about the "clean" tracks, it's still 3 of 4.

    Of course Apple still has the edge with the iPod community, and perhaps ease of use. But no one should be fooled: this is very good for the digital music marketplace.