Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, said Tuesday it officially launched its online music store, which it began testing in December.
The store, which allows customers to download a song from the Internet for 88 cents, has added new artists and been expanded by 50 percent, the Bentonville, Ark.-based retailer said. Wal-Mart, whose service competes against 99-cent songs from Apple Computer Inc.'s iTunes music store, said that for the next two months it would be the exclusive supplier of songs from artists carried by the Curb Records label.
Curb's artists include country music stars Tim McGraw and LeAnn Rimes. Wal-Mart said its site would also carry exclusive songs from artists including Jessica Simpson, Shania Twain and Shakira. A Wal-Mart spokeswoman did not immediately return a call seeking comment on whether the music service is profitable. Apple's song service loses money.
News source: CNN
