Are Record Labels bowing to internet pressure?

Victoria Shannon reported today in the New York Times that major record companies are contemplating unrestricted digital music.

In Cannes at the Midem, (the global trade fair for the music industry) executives of several technology companies have mentioned that “at least one of the four major record companies could move toward the sale of unrestricted digital files in the MP3 format within months.”

With digital sales for 2006 having grown slower than in 2005 (even though actual sales were 80% greater) major record companies are jockeying for position to increase their profits, and “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.”

Will the major recording companies give way to the pressure of the internet? Well, the move to MP3’s are not a certain fact, but is looking better and better.

The quotes in this piece are from Victoria Shannon’s article Record Labels Contemplate Unrestricted Digital Music.