Blog: Mousetrap Technology

Despite the slow death of sales of music on physical media, a new format was launched today backed by the big four music companies.

Sandisk unveiled its “slotMusic” format - pre-loaded albums on microSD memory cards smaller than a postage stamp.

The launch comes in the face of the soaring popularity of music downloads online and the declining popularity of CDs.

Sandisk, the world’s biggest supplier of flash memory-based data storage cards, has the backing of EMI Music, Sony BMG, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group.

The memory cards will go on sale next month, initially in the United States where they will cost around $15 - about the same as a CD.

Retailing giants Wal-Mart and Best Buy have agreed to stock the new format. Each SlotMusic card will contain an album, plus extras. Artists expected to feature in the first wave of releases include Rihanna, Weezer, Usher, Leona Lewis and Elvis Presley.

The songs come in the MP3 format, with no digital locks that prevent copying. SlotMusic cards can be played on mobile phones, PCs and some portable MP3 players equipped with a microSD card slot or a USB port.

A USB adapter is included allowing users to plug in their cards to the range of electronic items that now have USB ports, which include televisions, luxury cars and laptops.

The SlotMusic cards will have 1 gigabyte of memory which means they will be able to hold a full album and related content such as liner notes and cover art.

Buyers will be able to use extra space on the cards to hold songs and photos from their own collections.

Most of all, Sandisk hope to take advantage of the huge growth of music-playing mobile phones. Many recent models come with a microSD card slot.

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