Wal-Mart Begins Selling Music in MP3

Wal-Mart said Tuesday it will begin offering MP3 tracks from its music download service through arrangements with labels EMI and Universal.

Tracks will be priced at 94 cents and albums at $9.22 USD. Artists at launch include The Rolling Stones, Coldplay, and Maroon 5, among others.

As a promotion, certain classic albums will be offered at a discounted price, including Slippery When Wet by Bon Jovi and Get Rich or Die Tryin' by 50 Cent at $5.88 per album, and Come Away With Me by Norah Jones, Be Here by Keith Urban and Barrio Fino en Directo by Daddy Yankee at $7.88 per album

The move makes Wal-Mart’s online music store one of the first major retailers to offer MP3 tracks.

Universal had announced earlier in the month that it would be making some of its catalog available to select retailers in MP3 format. Wal-Mart was one of those mentioned in the initiative, which is said to be a test to see if selling MP3 tracks is viable.

Wal-Mart will continue to offer songs concurrently in its PlaysForSure compatible store, which retail for 88 cents for 128kbps and 94 cents for 256kbps tracks.

"As we consistently strive to help our customers shop smart at Wal-Mart, our new 'DRM-free' MP3 digital tracks give them the ease and flexibility to play music on virtually any device at a great value," the company’s digital media head Kevin Swint said in a statement.

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