Music retailers have another go at digital distribution

The initiative - founded by Virgin Entertainment, Tower Records, Trans World Entertainment, Hastings Entertainment, Wherehouse Music and Best Buy - has been put in place to try and bridge the gap between bricks and mortar retailers and digital music distribution.

Echo will seek competitive licences to allow its retail members to compete in the digital arena, and once these licences have been secured, the companies will launch a series of in-store marketing campaigns to promote the site and its services.

The music retailers hope their experience of building customer relationships will extend to the online sector, and that Echo will drive adoption of new digital services.

MusicNet and pressplay have both refused to release figures amid speculation that they have not yet attracted sufficient interest in their paid-for services, in the face of competition from free, "illegitimate" file-sharing sites such as Kazaa.



"www.echo.com ":http://www.echo.com

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