Big four labels adopt slotMusic memory cards for music sales

Stephen Withers
Tuesday, 23 September 2008 05:34

Your IT - Entertainment

Is a new format for physical music sales sufficient to stem the online tide, or will the iTunes Store and other download services continue to rule the roost?

CD sales have been dropping while music downloads have soared.

The basic idea of slotMusic is to sell albums in DRM-free MP3 format, stored on 1G microSD cards. These cards can be inserted directly into many recent mobile phones and some MP3 players.

No microSD slot? Either use the USB adaptor packaged with slotMusic cards to plug the card into a computer or other device (home and car audio products increasingly offer playback from USB media), or slip it into an adaptor sleeve for use with a miniSD or full-size SD slot.

The 1G microSD card provides far more space than needed for an album, even at 320kbps. This leaves room for labels and bands to include extras such as images and videos, or for owners to consolidate multiple albums onto one card.

This gives very broad immediate compatibility. And if your mobile device doesn't have a microSD slot, the absence of DRM means there's no problem copying the files via a computer.

slotMusic originated with SanDisk - which created the microSD format - along with EMI Music, Sony BMG, Universal Music and Warner Music.

When will slotMusic arrive? Please read on.