(5 January 2008 4:05 pm)

MUMBAI: Sony BMG, a joint venture between Sony and Bertelsmann Music Group, is selling music through Amazon's MP3 store.

Media reports say that Sony BMG will make at least part of its collection available without digital rights management (DRM). DRM restricts the use of music downloaded from the Internet.

Sony BMG will become the last of the top four music labels to drop DRM, following Warner Music Group, EMI and Vivendi's Universal Music Group.

Singer Justin Timberlake has signed a deal with Sony-owned Jive label by which he will be participating in a super bowl promotion with Pepsi. Starting 3 February, the campaign will offer free distribution of 1 billion songs from major labels, including Sony BMG, through Amazon's DRM-free download service.

Sony has been experimenting with DRM-free songs for about six months. The company began giving away DRM-free promotional downloads for recording artists that sell less than 100,000 units, and at least one artist gained mainstream exposure through the effort.