June 22, 2010 14:54

Tesco to take on iTunes with download service

Supermarket set to become a online music retailer

Photo: PA Photos

Tesco has revealed plans to enter the download market with a new online file service.

The retailer has launched a new digital store, Digital Locker, according to TechRadar, in a bid to challenge iTunes' UK supremacy in the digital music market.

Media purchased in the online store will be put in a so-called digital locker, allowing the files to be immediately accessible on devices including iPods, MP3 players and internet-ready televisions which are registered to each locker. The new file service allows content to be utilized by six users across a maximum of 12 devices.

Digital Locker was introduced at the Futuresource Entertainment Summit in London, in conjunction with Blueprint Digital, whose CEO Richard Bron explained the new system in more detail.

"The way it would work practically is that when you buy a disc in store or online, that title would be put up into your Digital Locker which would immediately be accessible from [a] device registered to that locker," Bron said.

Set to launch in October, Digital Locker will be tied to Tesco's Clubcard database, with all Clubcard owners having a locker on their account.

The service also has the backing of DSG, which is the owner of PC World, Currys and Dixons.

Play.com and HMV may also offer similar versions of the Digital Locker service if the project proves successful.

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