Puretracks.com today becomes the first Canadian digital music store to sell EMI’s digital music catalogue in an unrestricted¬†MP3 file format, without digital rights management (DRM). Beginning immediately in the Canadian market, you can purchase tracks from the likes of The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd and Canada’s Nickelback as MP3s.”EMI tracks purchased at Puretracks will play on any portable music device, including MP3-enabled phones and the iPod. Interoperability has been a huge issue and this is a big step forward in solving it,” says Alistair Mitchell, President and CEO, Puretracks. “This is a watershed moment for the digital music business.”

Albums in MP3 format will retail for the same price as DRM-enabled albums. Single tracks will retail for CDN $1.29. With this announcement, Canadians now have a new alternative where they can purchase EMI digital music for their iPod, as well as MP3 enabled phones or other music players.

“EMI Music Canada wants to give fans the best possible digital music buying experience, and our premium download offering is a fundamental part of our strategy,” says Deane Cameron, President EMI Music Canada. “We are proud that Puretracks is the first Canadian retailer to offer EMI’s DRM-free downloads in the MP3 format. We are confident that artists on EMI’s roster, as well as those on our distributed labels will see a good lift in digital sales as a result.”