EMI catalog goes online
Britain’s Wippit Ltd says it’s signed a deal with EMI Music to put most of EMI’s catalog online for p2p users in Europe.
Wippit uses Micro$oft’s Windows Media Audio format and Digital Rights Management, meaning songs can’t be shared on other file-sharing networks and, "Wippit uses a whitelist system where only approved material may be swapped. All content is recognised by Cantametrix MusicDNA technology," it says on its site.
Wippit already distributes digital downloads for a number of indy labels including Richard Branson’s V2, Telstar, Gut, Domino, City Rockers, Output, Grand Central and Vertical Form and bills itself as, "the world’s first legitimate P2P music subscription service with a wide range of recordings for you to download to your PC or Mediaterminal and play at your leisure. We’ve got everything from Rock to Rap to Classical to Audio Books. Even Wippit Ringtones! And currently, Wippit is the only service that allows you to download files in MP3 format to move to your MP3 player, burn to CD, and keep."
Wippit boss Paul Myers told the Associated Press his company, "signed a deal last month with EMI, whose artists range from the Rolling Stones to Coldplay," reports the Washington Post here.
"Myers said the Beatles, who are part of the EMI family, were not included in the deal, but refused to specify which acts were included or say how much the deal was worth."
On its site, the company states, "Wippit is approved by the Music Industry, meaning that all the poor, struggling, limo riding, multi-millionaire, diamond toothed artists and writers get paid and may even preview material on Wippit. It also means that we’re not very likely to get closed down in a trillion dollar court case from the entertainment industry either. But probably most important to you is that the files and recordings available are of the quality you expect from a ‘real’ company."
According to the WP, Myers wouldn’t say if EMI imposed restrictions, other than limiting its availability to users in Europe. The subscriber’s credit card indicates where the user is based, and Wippit plans to restrict the EMI catalog to European users.
Wippit is selling subscriptions for $49 a year, or $6 a month for "unlimited mp3s".
