the wall street journal reported that major recording label EMI contacted major online music stores with a plan to remove DRM security from files. Open format files would be able to be copied and played on most media software and portable MP3 players. They also could be more easily shared with friends, transferred to other people's players, sent via email, and downloaded over P2P and IM networks.

EMI's plan featured a hefty "risk insurance" fee of millions of dollars. The fee would cover EMI in case the DRM removal results in lowered sales from sharing and downloading. The response from retailers was positive.

EMI then floated the idea of an advance payment instead of insurance fee, which is likely to be even more well-received by the online stores. At the time of the article store responses and EMI's plan of action were unknown.