BBC planning music downloads service

00:05 | Thursday August 28, 2008

The proposed site would allow visitors to stream for free BBC recordings of material from the likes of radio and TV sessions, while charging for tracks to be downloaded permanently. However, insiders are playing down suggestions it will be a rival to iTunes as it will only offer BBC versions of tracks, rather than the original studio recordings.

BBC Worldwide has already struck a deal with EMI to use the Corporation’s archive of recordings by the major’s artists and it is understood to be in talks with the other three majors about reaching similar agreements.

A BBC spokesman confirms to Musicweek.com, “We’re looking at setting up in the direct-to-consumer arena a website which utilises the BBC music archive, but at this point no such launch has been approved.”

For a site like this to launch it will need the backing of the BBC Worldwide board with a source suggesting the earliest it could launch would be January next year.