Record label creates 'new' method of CD/digital sales

Nonesuch Records, a division of Warner Music Group Corp. (NYSE: WMG), is joining other record labels under the Warner Music banner by creating a new website designed to bypass the digital retailers and maintain physical sales, according to Billboard. The new service was launched this week with the release of the soundtracks to Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd and Paul Thomas Anderson's There Will Be Blood.

The attempt by Nonesuch and Warner Music to sell digital tracks directly to consumers with the purchase of the physical versions of the music is not the first time this method has appeared. The program follows this plan according to Billboard and the label's storefront is the following description:

"Buy the latest Nonesuch CDs on the Nonesuch Store and get:
The CD of the album shipped to you
A free digital download of the album with every CD purchased
Your choice of Standard (128 kbps) or Audiophile-Quality (320 kbps) downloads at no extra cost
Exclusive digital bonus tracks on select album included at no extra cost"

A plan like this was previously attempted by a company called AnywhereCD, which had agreements with Warner Music that were terminated after the arrangement to sell CDs and give away high-quality MP3 tracks was announced. What the above description does not talk about is the disuse of Digital Rights Management technology, the anti-piracy software the labels encode into digital music and other media files.

The arrangement, which is nearly identical to the one Warner Music stopped AnywhereCD from using will apparently include DRM-free tracks, Billboard reports. In any case, though the store requires consumers to buy a CD to accompany the digital files, at least one more music company is testing the possibility of eliminating the use of the anti-piracy software. It is a late minute addition to the holiday season, but it is still in time to capitalize on consumers hoping to load up their new MP3 players with music as a result of the holiday season.