MAJORS AND SANDISK SEND A CARD TO CONSUMERS

On the heels of MySpace Music and Nokia’s Comes With Music, the Big Four have once again joined forces, this time partnering with SanDisk in the initial rollout of the slotMusic card. Among the 40 acts with albums featured in the first wave of releases are Coldplay, Nickelback, Rise Against, Keane, Sugarland, Katy Perry, Leona Lewis and Rihanna, along with catalog titles from Elvis Presley, ABBA, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Jimi Hendrix, etc.

The configuration, developed by SanDisk, is a microSD memory card that snaps into enabled mobile phones, portable players and computers, as well as some car stereos. The card has a 1 GB capacity and is packaged with a USB adaptor for connecting to PCs and Macs. Each one is pre-loaded with DRM-free MP3s that play back at up to 320kbps. Along with an album’s worth of music, the slotMusic card has sufficient space to hold album art and copy, videos and plenty of other content.

Robin Thicke is utilizing the additional space on his card to add exclusive videos, behind-the-scenes footage and photos. If the slotMusic format catches on, artists could conceivably come to view it as an extension of the album—untapped territory for integrated creative expression.

Whether the slotMusic configuration will catch on, however, is anybody’s guess, in that consumers have turned up their noses at one new delivery system after another over the years, with the obvious exception of the iPod. Additionally, it will be a challenge to sell albums, even loaded with extras, during a singles-oriented era.

On the other hand, computer owners already have a comfort level with flash memory drives, hardware pioneered by SanDisk, and the format appears to be so simple that even Lenny Beer could figure out how to make it work.

The first run is now shipping to Best Buy and Wal-Mart and is expected to be on shelves within a few days, with additional releases expected by the end of the year. Suggested list is $14.99, putting the slotMusic card in the same price range as the CD.

More details can be found at www.slotmusic.org.