UMG Testing Sale of Unrestricted Tracks

In a statement, Universal Music Chairman and CEO Doug Morris said the test is one of many the company is conducting this year and "will provide valuable insights into the implications of selling our music in an open format."

"Universal Music Group is committed to exploring new ways to expand the availability of our artists' music online, while offering consumers the most choice in how and where they purchase and enjoy our music," Morris said.

Apple spokesman Tom Neumayr said the company had no comment.

Universal Music will make DRM-free songs available Aug. 21 to Jan. 31.

Regardless of whether it ultimately decides to continue selling DRM-free tracks beyond that, Universal said it plans to support online music subscription services and ad-supported download sites that rely on copy-protection technology.

Among the online retailers that will be selling the tracks are Amazon.com Inc., Google Inc., Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Best Buy Co., RealNetworks Inc.'s Rhapsody, Transworld, PassAlong Networks and Puretracks Inc., according to Universal.

The retailers are expected to sell the tracks for 99 cents and in a variety of bit rates. Universal will be offering the tracks in the MP3 format, but the retailers will be free to sell the tracks in any DRM-free format they choose.

Best Buy plans to sell the songs in the MP3 format for 99 cents each, said Mehrdad Akbar, an executive in the retailer's music division.

"This is pretty exiting for us and it's something we feel consumers have been asking for," Akbar said. "We're hoping that this will set the path for everyone to move toward the MP3 format."

Earlier this summer, Universal Music broke ranks with other major labels and declined to renew a one-year music licensing deal to sell its recordings on iTunes. The record company opted instead to enter into month-by-month arrangements similar to deals it has with other major online music retailers.

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On the Net:

Universal Music Group: http://new.umusic.com

Apple Inc.: http://www.apple.com

(This version CORRECTS name in 5th graf to EMI Group, not EMI Music Group.)