Telus first Canadian mobile carrier to do DRM-free music

I haven’t looked at buying music from a mobile device in a long while, but would have figured that DRM free was now de rigueur.  Apparently not for purchasing over the air on your phone, at least in Canada.  Telus has announced today that they have launched a DRM-free over the air (OTA) service.   In short, as a Telus customer, you’ll be able to buy music directly on your phone (with free 30 second previews).  Once you have it there, since you’re free of those pesky rights management issues you can do with it what you will.

At launch, Telus will have about 2.5 million tracks (not a bad start), and sell them individually for between $0.69 and $1.29, with many priced at $0.99.  If you’ve bought DRM’ed versions of songs, you’ll have to pony up the $0.30 per track to strip it away.  This seems on par with many other services, such as iTunes.

Their unlimited subscription music service will remain DRMed, which makes sense.  You can catch the full press release

February 10, 2010

TELUS brings a beat of freedom to all music lovers in Canada

First mobile carrier in Canada to offer over-the-air DRM-free music

Toronto, ON – TELUS today announced that it is the first wireless carrier in Canada to offer over-the-air DRM-free (digital rights management) music tracks to Canadians.

Canadians now have the freedom to play back music purchased from the TELUS Music shop on any of their digital music capable devices. DRM-free music expands the TELUS music experience by allowing clients to transfer the music they buy from TELUS to their own electronic devices including cell phones, smartphones or PCs.

“TELUS is the first carrier in Canada offering true freedom of choice to all music lovers in Canada,” said David Neale, Chief Futurist and senior vice-president Strategic Content Services at TELUS. “The availability of DRM-free music from TELUS means our clients can now easily move their music between their devices for a simpler, seamless experience. Today’s announcement demonstrates our ongoing commitment to making music available any time, anywhere, and ensures a superior customer experience for TELUS customers.”

“Canada’s major record labels are delighted to support TELUS’ DRM-free music offer,” said Graham Henderson, president of the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA). “For music lovers with advanced mobile devices, this new offering means that they can get and listen to their music on-the-go. TELUS is making mobile music a reality and is demonstrating leadership in Canada’s digital music marketplace.”

Current TELUS Music shop users can also enjoy the benefits of DRM-free music by easily upgrading eligible DRM music files they already have in their collections. The upgrade can be done through the TELUS media player or via any DRM-free capable handset for $0.30 per track.

TELUS Music shop offers more than 2.5 million chart topping and catalogue favourite tracks and albums including today’s most popular English and French artists. Music tracks are available for $0.69, $0.99, or up to $1.29. Full albums are also available for purchase. For information about TELUS DRM-free music please visit www.telusmobility.com/music.