Free U2 downloads on horizon

By Alex Vega
The Associated Press

Universal Music, home to artists such as U2, The Killers and Audioslave, will make its catalog of recordings and music videos available for free downloading on an ad-supported Web site launching later this year, the site operator said Tuesday.

The two-year deal calls for New York-based SpiralFrog.com to split advertising revenue with the recording company, said Lance Ford, chief marketing and sales officer for SpiralFrog.

Users can download an unlimited number of songs or music videos if they register at the site.

The tracks cannot be burned to a CD, but users will be able to transfer music to portable media players equipped with Microsoft Windows digital rights management software, Ford said.

SpiralFrog also requires users to return to the site and renew registration at least once a month or the tracks cease to play.

The company is in talks to reach similar licensing agreements with other major recording companies, Ford said.

“They understand and support this ad model,” he said.

Ford declined to disclose the value of the deal but said it included advance payments to Universal Music.

The label declined to comment.

Offering music and video content for free on ad-supported Web sites is not new, but other firms have not allowed downloading and typically restrict access to streaming tracks or viewing videos online.

SpiralFrog hopes to appeal to music fans who now flock to online file-sharing services to download music and videos that are often pirated.

A beta version of the site is expected to go live in December. Initially, only computer users in the United States and Canada will be able to download content.

In May, online music service Napster Inc. began allowing visitors to Napster.com to listen to tracks five times for free on an ad-supported site it launched as a way to eventually boost its paying subscriber rolls.

Downloads from SpiralFrog will not be compatible with Apple Computer Inc. PCs or the firm’s line of iPod music players.

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