Music retailer HMV Group is expected to announce this week the launch of a subscription digital music service to capitalize on the consumer craze for downloading music off the Internet, sources said.
HMV, in which music label EMI Group holds a 14.5 percent stake, is expected to announce as soon as Tuesday that it will be the first British music chain to launch a subscription music service from its Web site. The anticipated launch date is early September.
The retailer will team with On Demand Distribution (OD2), a British technology firm co-founded by recording artist Peter Gabriel, to make nearly 100,000 tracks from such acts as Elvis Presley and Kylie Minogue, available to British users of its site.