Musicmatch Inc. on Monday announced a music download service allowing users to download music without taking out a subscription, and to burn tracks onto CDs.
The Windows-only Musicmatch Downloads service will give access to more than 200,000 tracks from the five major music labels and over 30 independents, without restrictive rules on how they can be used, Musicmatch said in a statement.
In a move that seems designed to compete against Apple Computer Inc.’s iTunes service, as well as illegal music download services, Musicmatch will allow downloads to be played on up to three PCs simultaneously and on portable players supporting Microsoft Corp.’s Windows Media Series 9. They can also be burned onto CDs, although the same playlist can only be burned up to five times, Musicmatch said.
Single tracks will cost US$0.99 and most albums will cost $9.99, Musicmatch said.
By the end of the year, Musicmatch aims to have 500,000 tracks available.
The service will be available to U.S. residents, Musicmatch said. The company was not immediately available to comment on a worldwide release.