Web Gets First Look At Emi Downloads

EMI Recorded Music's commercial download program kicks off today (July 18) in North America. EMI becomes the second of the five major music companies to offer paid downloads on the Web. Sony Music quietly entered the download arena in April.

According to EMI Music Distribution president Richard Cottrell, 80 dealers are participating in the EMI download program, which includes such albums as D'Angelo's "Voodoo" and Pink Floyd's "Dark Side Of The Moon."

Among the other online retailers participating in the download program are HMV, Virgin Jamcast, CDnow, Musicland, Checkout, Best Buy, and Trans World Entertainment.

However, as of this morning, a survey of some of the participating sites revealed that most of them are not yet up to speed for download delivery. A consumer could find the largest selection of EMI product on HMV.com, which was offering albums from several EMI artists, including Frank Sinatra, Luscious Jackson, Everclear, and Floyd, for $15.99 Canadian and $10.52 U.S.

But a search for "Dark Side Of The Moon" on Virgin Jamcast yielded a title page with the text "tracks not currently available." As of this morning, CDnow, Musicland, Trans World, Best Buy, and Checkout were not yet offering downloads. On most sites, there was no indication that any new EMI download program was in place.

Participating retailers have been taking part in a closed test since July 1, Cottrell says, to "iron out any technical glitches" before going live with consumers. EMI is making its files available in the Microsoft Windows Media and Liquid Audio formats.


Consumers who visit the WindowsMedia.com site and download the new Windows Media Player 7 will get song samples from EMI acts and can click a "buy" button that will take them to either Virgin Jamcast in the U.S. or HMV in Canada. The Microsoft promotion, which lasts 60 days, will be exclusive to those two retailers for the first two weeks, according to Supertracks, which is providing the infrastructure for the promotion.