Earlier today, Mashable editor Paul Glazowski reported on Amazon's plans to take their MP3 store international. Yet not all the music companies may be on board with the idea just yet.
Universal Music Group, the largest music seller, hasn't yet officially closed the door on the matter. But they might if they don't continue with DRM-free formatting, a primary selling point of the Amazon music service. According to an article on PaidContent, UMG is taking a wait-and-see approach to the situation.
They began selling DRM-free tracks in August. But the move was considered a test run, and it is due to end soon. There is no word to if they will continue with the consumer-friendly lack of digital right management. Speaking at the MidemNet conference in Cannes, France, Jean-Bernard Lévy, CEO of the Vivendi portion of Universal said, “We don’t want to make too many comments at this stage - we are still watching and, in time, we will make some decisions.”
So what does this mean for Amazon? If they do want to go international, but don't have the support of the worlds largest music catalog, will they be able to succeed? Peter Kafka of Silicon Valley Insider speculates that this is part of a "public negotiation" for Universal. I agree. If Universal can back Amazon in to a corner, the online retailer may have to give UMG more favorable terms to save face. Of course, the negotiation results will be kept private, and Universal will come out looking magnaminous for having sided with consumers in the end.