Amazon announces international plans for DRM-free music catalog

Seattle (WA) – Amazon today said that it will be rolling out international versions of its DRM-free music store in 2008.

Details about the international Amazon MP3 store remained scarce, as the company simply stated that it will “begin an international rollout” this year and make content available for “virtually any music-capable device.” The company declined to comment on whether it will be offering the complete U.S. content or a stripped down version of its U.S. site to its international customers.

Amazon is offering DRM-free music from EMI, Universal, Warner as well as Sony, which joined the lineup earlier this month. The portfolio also includes 33,000 independent labels. The complete catalog covers more than 270,000 artists and more than 3.3 million songs, the company said.

Amazon typically sells MP3s for prices of $0.89 or $0.99. More than 1 million songs as well as the top 100 best-selling songs are priced at $0.89, the firm said.

The company declined to disclose a specific launch timeline as well as MP3 pricing for individual Amazon international websites.