Calling it an “open MP3 test,” Universal said it would sell unprotected MP3 versions of songs by many of the label’s top artists and bands, including Amy Winehouse, Daddy Yankee, Maroon 5, Dr. Dre, Prince and Elvis Costello.

As the largest record label in this sector of the known galaxy, the results of Universal’s MP3 test just might help determine the future of digital rights management in the years to come. Although most labels have declared DRM a necessity for selling tracks online, there’s reason to believe that most pirated tracks originate from ripped CDs, not songs purchased online.

If there was one thing the media seemed to zero in on regarding Universal’s MP3 announcement, it was that Apple’s iTunes was conspicuously absent from the list of online vendors included in the label’s venture.

But that shouldn’t come as a surprise. Universal chairman and CEO Doug Morris has been critical of iTunes, saying that Apple has gained too much power over the labels in recent years. More recently, Universal did not renew iTunes’ standard contract, choosing instead to go with a temporary agreement that gives the label a little more bargaining power as to how its tracks are sold on iTunes.

But who needs iTunes when you’re selling unprotected MP3s? The biggest draw for songs sold on iTunes is that the tracks are iPod compatible. MP3s are also iPod compatible, meaning that tracks purchased from any of the vendors and Web portals participating in Universal’s test, including Google, Best Buy Digital Music Store, Rhapsody and Amazon, will play on iPods.

In other words, Universal gets to stick it to Apple while giving iTunes competitors a little more marketing muscle.

“Universal Music Group is committed to exploring new ways to expand the availability of our artists’ music online, while offering consumers the most choice in how and where they purchase and enjoy our music,” Morris said. “This test, which is a continuation of a series of tests that UMG began conducting earlier in the year, will provide valuable insights into the implications of selling our music in an open format.”