HMV to launch download service

Thousands of tracks from acts including Kylie Minogue and the Chemical Brothers are to be made available to download over the internet.

UK music retailer HMV will launch an online subscription service next month, offering over 100,000 songs from labels including EMI, Warner Music and BMG.

From September, fans will be able to listen, download or burn a number of tracks for a monthly fee of 4.99. As part of the subscription users can download 50 tracks onto a PC, and make a single digital copy onto a portable player.

The tracks can be stored and played on the PC for as long as the monthly subscription is paid up, but music on portable players will be locked after one month. Burning tracks onto a CD is expected to cost either 99p or 1.49.

HMV's service will be powered by On Demand Distribution (OD2), the digital download firm set up by Peter Gabriel in 1999. Websites including MSN.co.uk, Freeserve and Tiscali have already signed up to the service.

"This is a very important deal for the industry as a whole as HMV is one of the largest high street retailers of CDs and stocks quite a broad catalogue," said OD2 chief executive, Charles Grimsdale. "The cost per track is low, so if you want to listen to music on your computer, it is very good value," he added.