Universal Group Direct last week unveiled the new Channel service, promising customers single CDs at a maximum of £8.99 and single DVDs at £14.99, under the slogan, "Never more, often less. That's a promise".

The launch of the service comes just a month after the creation of a new Universal Music business division, called Universal Group Direct, which will house both Channel and its offline-only sister operation Britannia.

Mimicking Britannia, customers who sign up to Channel will be compelled to ...