Virgin Digital set for UK launch, to take on HMV's planned site |
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Wed, 31 Aug 2005 19:05
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LOS ANGELES: Virgin Digital, the music arm of Virgin Group, is planning a digital music service in the U.K. The formal launch is slated for 2 September and the group said it will take on established players like Napster Inc, Apple Computers' iTunes and HMV Group's proposed music service.
Virgin Digital has already entered the U.S. market in a big way a year ago. The firm is using music content provided by MusicNet.
The users can choose from either a pay-as-you-go service or a monthly subscription of 9.9 pounds. The subscription will give them access to the 1.2 million tracks in the Virigin Digital music library from three different computers. They can also sample songs from a catalogue before they buy.
A monthly subscription of14.99 pounds enables the users to transfer an unlimited number of tracks to compatible MP3 players. However, these transferred tracks expire if the monthly subscription is discontinued.
Virgin said its president Sir Richard Branson will launch the service at Virgin Megastores in London using a 3D hologram of himself. He is at the moment in his private island of Necker in the Caribbean.
Meanwhile Rock band The Who is understood to be tying up with McFly to record a version of the band's 1965 hit My Generation to launch HMV's digital music download site, slated for next Monday. HMV, with its grounding as a retailer and as a company into music for generations, will surely give a fight to Virgin. It said it will offer customers a choice of paid-for downloads or a monthly subscription service. It will have a catalogue of 1.5 million songs and it is in the process of creating digital music sections in its 200 stores in the U.K.
Incidentally, HMV too has collaborated with MusicNet for content.
Both the firms target Windows Media-based portable music players, as their systems are not compatible with Apple's iPod.
In the U.K., nearly 10 million songs were legally downloaded from the Internet during the first half of 2005, while digital downloads constitute 5 per cent of all global music sales. There are some 300 different services available to the music enthusiasts against a handful some two years ago.
Music industry experts feel the entry of digital music and the download facility may bring in a major shift in the user patterns. Even the hardcore traditional fans, who depended on CDs or tapes or DVDs, may be enthused to switch over to download gadgets and listen to their favourites online. Research by British Phonographic Institute early this year indicated that cassette sales are on the decline -- from 83 million in 1989 to just about 900,000 in 2004.
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