Another bidding process for EMI: what does this mean for DRM?

Last week Billboard reported that the Warner Music Group Corp. (NYSE: WMG) is one of many potential buyers of London-based EMI Group PLC. This is the most recent in a number of countless bids by Warner to buy EMI since 2000 and the company, as well as other companies interested in acquiring EMI have until May 23 (when EMI makes its annual financial report) to make "fully financed, formal offers."

An earlier deal offered by Warner in March was rejected by EMI as the $4.1 billion and the terms involved were considered "inadequate." Since then EMI has been at the forefront of a major change in the selling of musical products: stopping the use of Digital Rights Management (DRM) technology in their digital music files (announced in early April, blogged on BloggingStocks).

If EMI is sold, which is presumably inevitable since the company is openly taking offers, one can wonder if the changes the company has made will remain. Warner has repeatedly denied that the company is even close to dropping DRM so if it is successful in buying EMI, would Warner be forced to change to a no-DRM stance as well, or would EMI (as a new part of Warner) revert to DRM usage. Other parties involved, like the private equity firms Billboard states are interested, have made no statement about their interest anyway, so any stance on DRM is unknown.

The rumors about EMI being bought are not new, but with the DRM change any purchase brings in a number of new questions about the feasibility of the technology remaining unused or being reinstated.