Los Angeles - The four major record labels, along with leading U.S. retailers and memory card maker SanDisk on Monday introduced a new music format, where microSD cards will come pre-loaded with DRM-free MP3 albums from top artists. The "slotMusic" cards will be playable in mobile phones and MP3 players that support microSD cards -- which excludes Apple's (NASD: AAPL) iPod -- as well as on any computer with a USB port and a number of in-car systems.

"slotMusic offers consumers an immediate, tangible, and high quality alternative to CDs and digital delivery," said Danielle Levitas, vice president of consumer, broadband and new media at market research firm IDC.

"This year, more than 1.2 billion mobile phones will ship globally, outstripping portable media players by nearly an order of magnitude -- and this trend is accelerating."

U.S. retailers including Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) and Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) have agreed to carry slotMusic cards; the companies said European retail partners will be announced later.

Sony (NYSE: SNE) BMG, Universal Music, EMI and Warner Music (NYSE: WMG) will be able to pack songs, liner notes, album art, videos and other content on the 1GB slotMusic cards, which will also allow users to add their own content.

While the companies did not announce pricing details, a major label executive told The New York Times the album cards are expected to sell for $7 to $10 each.

Related Links:
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20080921005066/en

http://snipurl.com/3sroy (NY Times Bits Blog)

http://www.sandisk.com

http://www.slotmusic.org