Yahoo
put another music track without DRM (digital rights management) on sale
through its Yahoo Music service Tuesday. The Norah Jones single "Thinking About
You" sells for $0.99, in MP3 format on Yahoo's music store, and in
DRM-encumbered AAC format on Apple Computer's iTunes Store. Both formats will
play on PCs, Macs, and the market-leading iPod portable music player, but only
the MP3 version will play on other portable music players.
Yahoo first experimented with selling MP3 files without DRM in July, when it
offered Jessica Simpson's "A Public Affair" as an MP3 file for $1.99. While that
track was not tied to a particular PC or music player with DRM, the audio track
was personalized to contain a first name of the purchaser's choice, picked from
a list of hundreds of prerecorded names, limiting its interest to other
listeners.