New physical music format to 'rival CD' launched

A new physical music format that allows people to buy music that has been preloaded onto SanDisk memory cards is set to launch.

slotMusic has the support of major record labels EMI Music, Sony BMG, Warner Music Group and Universal Music Group.

It is expected that many of their artists, who include Oasis, Amy Winehouse and Coldplay, will be featured on the new format.

The preloaded cards, which have a capacity of 1GB (gigabyte), will enable users to play the music on a variety of different platforms including mobile phones and MP3 and video players.

The MP3-based tracks on the cards are encoded at a high-quality 320kbps bitrate and are DRM free, meaning that they can be played across multiple devices.