GCap And Microsoft To Offer Legal Downloads

GCap Media has teamed up with software giants, Microsoft Windows, allowing users to download the song they’re currently listening to and search from 500,000 old and new tracks, which they can mix, organise and burn.

The £750,000 deal starts this month, with Windows XP sponsoring all streaming media activity across the musicradio.com and classicfm.com websites, during the 12-month period.

Listeners will be able to choose songs that they like and watch in real-time on the radio station’s website the artist and the title of the song playing. They will be able to click the ‘Buy’ button, confirm their choice and download a legal CD quality copy of the song to their PC in under two minutes.

Hear It, Buy It, Burn It’s music content is provided exclusively by OD2, Europe’s largest distributor of legally authorised digital music, with the catalogue including tracks form record companies including Warner, BMG, EMI, Universal and Sony as well as those of independent labels.

The deal was put together by Alan King from Universal McCann and Tim Ferris, new media executive for GCap Media.

Commenting on the promotion, King said: “This is an excellent partnership for us. Our campaign objective is to make people aware of what Windows can do for them. We have done this by identifying one of the passions of our audience, music being one of them, and demonstrating how Windows can enhance their experience.”

King added: “Hear It, Buy It, Burn It is based on Microsoft technology and is a truly innovative product which makes it a perfect association for Microsoft.”

Top music magazine, Q recently jumped on the downloading band wagon, offering readers the chance to listen to over a million tunes for free with online downloading service, Napster (seeQ To Draw Readers With A Million Free Songs).

In the initiative Emap’s magazine will boast the biggest covermounted CD ever, featuring 15 summer tracks from artists such as, the Flaming Lips, The Magic Numbers, Teenage Fanclub and Feeder.

Microsoft: 0870 60 10 100 www.microsoft.com/uk