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Considering the new site is being launched amid a crackdown on intellectual property violations in the U.S. and Canada, that particular feature is certain to draw ire from legislators. Though nearly every one of the site’s beta-testers (fully 98% of 620 participants) found the no-DRM feature to be a “strongly appreciated special feature to the site.” As major record labels begin to remove digital locks in response to consumer demand, some sites like iTunes Plus have started to offer DRM-free downloads as well.

“I’m not certain we had the [no-DRM] feature in mind within the context of where copyright legislation might be going in Canada, it was just something that consumers for years have been saying they don’t want their digital music in locked form,” Mr. Kadaner told the Financial Post on Monday.

“I can’t imagine that the government would have any issue, because all [copyright legislation] is saying is if there are locks then don’t circumvent the locks and if there are no locks then great.”

In a sign of true Canadian style, the site will be accessible in both English and French. It also claims to be Canada’s only web-based music store to accept Interac(R) debit cards as a form of online payment, which the company is offering in order to “simplify purchasing for HMV’s core young shoppers, many of whom are too young to qualify for a credit card.”

The launch of the digital music store comes just a few weeks after HMV unveiled pureHMV.ca, a customer loyalty site that lets those who register on the site collect points for each purchase. Customers can then later redeem their points for “money can’t buy rewards” such as artist-autographed CDs and accessories.

jberkow@nationalpost.com