It could happen as early as this year according to this article in the NYT.  While it would certainly take some time for the entire recording industry to come around to the idea, it sounds like at least one record company will try marketing tunes in unrestricted MP3 format in the next few months.

Again, I echo what I said in The Inevitable Death of DRM post, that DRM is doomed to fail.  Give the users what they want – don’t keep trying to rape them on price and keep control of how they can use the product.  Give your customers control and you will win accolades on usability and working with customers.

Set the user free and see how it pays you back in return.

Via: The New York Times – Record Labels Contemplate Unrestricted Digital Music