7digital, the online music downloading service, has announced they've raised $8.5 million from Sutton Place Managers and Balderton Capital (also known as Benchmark Europe). 7digital is the download service behind the music downloads available for purchase by way of Last.FM, a deal that was made last summer.
7digital also operates online stores for other sites such Bebo, ITV and Pringles. The company's biggest current claim to fame is the deal with Last.FM and the licensing agreement they currently hold with EMI to provide legal downloads of the entire back-catalog.
When EMI made the decision in April to go DRM free, 7digital noted on their blog that they "grinned ear to ear." Since that time, they've seen music download sales surge a total of 188%, showing that consumers actually do care about the copy protection on their music.