Online music store to rival iTunes with £3 albums

AN ONLINE file-sharing service is to challenge Apple's iTunes software after signing a deal to sell music.

Spotify, a Swedish streaming site with more than a million users and a catalogue of six million tracks, has partnered with 7digital.com to allow users to download and listen to tracks.

Single tracks and albums will be available to buy this year when the service is launched in Britain.

Although pricing is yet to be confirmed, 7digital sells tracks for as little as 50p and some albums for £3. In the UK, the cost of the cheapest songs on iTunes is 59p.

The four major record labels, EMI, Sony BMG, Universal Music and Warner Music all have agreements in place with 7digital.

They are said to be keen to back any challenge to iTunes's near monopoly of the paid download market.

Daniel Ek, founder of Spotify, said: "Spotify is a great way to listen to and discover music. We're committed to developing the world's largest streaming music catalogue, and 7digital's high-quality MP3 downloads makes them an ideal partner."