HMV MP3 store goes live: Firefox users need not apply
UK retailer HMV has soft-launched its new MP3 store today, offering tracks from Universal Music Group, EMI and various indie labels.
According to Music Week it’s got a catalogue of four million tracks, delivered as 320kbps MP3 files. It’s somewhat surprising that a retailer like HMV couldn’t get Warner Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment on board for launch – but maybe that’s why it’s a soft launch. Single tracks start at £0.69, while albums start at £6.99.
However, it doesn’t work with the Firefox browser at the moment – the image above is what we saw when trying to access the store. Given that Firefox currently has around 20% market penetration, that’s a puzzling decision on the part of HMV, although the site does say ‘check back in the next few weeks’, so hopefully it’s being sorted.
Thankfully, we hadn’t deleted Internet Explorer, so had a nose around (see right). There’s a lot of information in there – you could say it’s a bit cluttered – but it seems to work pretty well so far.
Much depends on how (and when) HMV promotes the store to its customers, and also how the store ties in with its swizzy new next-generation stores that are launching in the UK.
Tags: HMV
