DRM’d music is roadkill, steamrolled by iPods, iTunes and fair use.

Businessweek reports that Sony BMG is finalizing plans to sell songs without DRM, the copyright protection software that has long restricted the use of music downloaded from the Internet.

Sony BMG, a joint venture of Sony and Bertelsmann, will make at least part of its collection available without so-called digital rights management software some time in the first quarter.

Sony BMG would become the last of the top four music labels to drop DRM, following Warner Music Group, which in late December said it would sell DRM-free songs through Amazon.com’s digital music store. EMI and Vivendi’s Universal Music Group announced their plans for DRM-free downloads earlier in 2007.

It remains to be seen whether or not Sony BMG allows all its partners to sell MP3 versions of its music, or it plans to use MP3 sales as a way of fighting the growing dominance of Apple in the world of digital music.

Image: seandreilinger