Glory Hallelujah! The end of DRM is nigh.

I'm not entirely sure I can believe today's announcement made by Steve Jobs and Eric Nicoli, the CEO of EMI, stating that EMI's catalogue (with one notable exception, of course) will go on sale DRM-free.

Only a few days ago, I was all but asking people wanting to buy my stuff to go elsewhere than shop at iTunes, such was the degree to which DRM pisses me off. Now, I wouldn't exactly say I have the clout as an artist to make any difference (yeah, right), but I know I'm not alone in this regard. As much as it's nice to make money and recoup some of the considerable expense that comes with realising the music I record, it's way, way more important that people hear it. I mean - I hope nobody thinks that record deals are designed with the artist in mind.

I've been purchasing DRM-free music for donkey's years now. It's called vinyl and CDs. The ability to encode music, which should have been liberating, was taken as an opportunity to gouge loyal customers and put people off experimenting with music.

Just as the mix tape woke me up to so much music over so many years, so the ability to share music builds taste and broadens minds. It acts as a catalyst to sales, not as an alternative.

To that end, I offer a little taster from my forthcoming album ...Amongst Tax Collectors and Thieves. This song is dedicated to all those people who make cash without regard to artists or consumers.

Ladles and jellyspoons, I give you...

Joe Dice