It's a positive step for Sony to sell DRM-free music, but their approach is kind of Rub Goldbergian:

The No. 2 record company after Universal Music will sell plastic cards, called Platinum MusicPass, for individual albums for a suggested price of $12.99. Buyers enter a code from the card at new Sony BMG (SNE) site MusicPass.com to download that card's album.

The problem is, iTunes is way easier than that. Sure, the cards Sony wants to sell are useful as gifts - but if I'm sitting at home browsing their store, see an album I like, am I going to get up and drive to a mall to buy a card? Sorry, I'll just shop at Amazon or iTunes until Sony figures this one out. Sony is still living in a different reality:

While conventional download services, such as iTunes, (AAPL) make impulse music buying easier than the cards, Sony BMG feels "strongly that there's a group that will enjoy carrying the imagery of an artist they love around with them, or sharing it with their friends," Hesse says. Cards allow one download, though they have a provision for a backup.

Umm, yeah - I want nothing more than a wallet stuffed full of cards. Sheesh Sony, find a clue. I hear Apple and Amazon sell them...

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