British-based digital music retailer sees 300% sales increase

7digital.com, a British-based digital music retailer, reported to Billboard Monday that the store has seen a 300% increase in sales of MP3 tracks during the first half of 2008. The report is attributed to the availability of MP3 tracks without anti-piracy technology from Warner Music Group Corp. (NYSE: WMG) and British music company EMI Group. EMI also enjoys two of the three best-selling albums in the store: Coldplay's Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends, Kylie Minogue's X. If EMI had not lost Radiohead last year, the company would have all three with the band's In Rainbows.

Ben Drury, 7digital.com's CEO, commented on the place of the newer, higher quality, DRM-free tracks in the digital market, calling them "the future for digital music" and a sign that all online music sales will be handled in the format. In the meantime, 7digital.com has become the number two digital music retailer in the United Kingdom, entertaining nearly two million consumers every month. Although it is a UK-based company, American consumers can use the site and enjoy high-quality DRM-free MP3 tracks via a credit card and a currency conversion charge.

I've utilized 7digital.com in the past for the very reasons that the company is now reporting increased sales, even though the conversion charge and prices are not easy to determine due to the lower value of the dollar compared to the pound. The digital market deserves to be less about borders than it is and 7digital.com proves that DRM-free and internationalization can co-exist even with extra fees and charges for American users. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL)'s iTunes Store is another digital retailer that could benefit from these types of sales, but the company maintains different stores for national markets.