MP3 music downloads at seven big UK online stores are to be marked with this MP3 compatible sign, part of an initiative led by the Entertainment Retailers Association to make consumers aware of the advantages of the format and the fact that it can be used across multiple brands of music players and across PCs and Macs.
7digital, Digitalstores, Tescodigital, Tunetribe, Play.com, HMV and Woolworths are all on board for the launch. ERA digital chairman Russel Coultart said the move was to take the message to music fans "that they can legally buy downloads which are not locked to specific players or computers or mobile phones".
7digital said consumers much prefer the MP3 format because it is so easy to use. If the MP3 logo is successful, it could be rolled out by the equivalent trade bodies internationally and Coultart also said it is in discussions with music retail organisations globally "to make 'MP3 compatible' an international standard".
ERA credits MP3s with much of the growth of music downloads sales, which have risen 41% year-on-year to October this year, according to the Official UK Charts Company, and album sales are up 69%.
