SanDisk’s slotMusic Goes Against Digital Music Trend
Will a small microSD card save the album/CD music format? That’s the provocative question raised by SanDisk, which announced Monday that it has struck deals with music-industry leaders to release DRM-free MP3 music on slotMusic cards.
The cards, which will begin selling in time for the holiday season, will each hold up to a gigabyte of music, or roughly the same amount as a traditional CD. According to SanDisk, four music-industry giants — EMI Music, SONY BMG, Universal Music Group, and Warner Music Group — have agreed to provide content. Retailers Best Buy and Wal-Mart will stock the cards, as will online stores.
The company says the capacity of the microSD will enable musicians to include a variety of old and new media content, including liner notes, videos, album art, and so on. Consumers will also be able to add their own content.
