SanDisk Announces SlotMusic, A New Way Of Distributing Music

SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ:SNDK) has announced today that they are working on a new way to sell music.  Four of the major music labels are backing the initiative which is called SlotMusic.  SlotMusic will contain full albums distributed through a MicroSD memory card.  Wal-Mart and Best Buy are a couple of the first retailers that will be selling the SlotMusic.

Is the compact disc becoming obsolete?  I’d say not yet for the time being because I have not seen any cars in the U.S. supporting MicroSD as a way to play music.  And in my car is where I get the majority of my music-listening time.  The MP3s in SlotMusic will not have DRM.  The four labels participating in the new form of music distribution is Universal, Sony BMG, EMI, and Warner Music Group.  The initial release of SlotMusic will be 29 albums from artists like Ne-Yo, Rihanna, Robin Thicke, Weezer, Usher, Chris Brown, Akon, Elvis Presley, etc.  SlotMusic will be sold for about $7-$10.

This feature may become popular for those who prefer to use their mobile devices (excluding the iPhone) as their personal MP3 player.  Most smartphones have a MicroSD card reader.