Struggling music retailer, HMV, as part of its efforts to fight digital content threat has launched a free mobile phone app on Thursday.
The app will allow the music lovers to buy or listen to track tasters just by scanning adverts, posters or CD covers in stores or simply by playing tracks from the radio into their smart phones. This will be the first digital music download non-iTunes based app which will be made available through Apple phones.
Music shoppers can pre-order and buy music tracks from HMV’s digital catalogue and get the tracks stored in an online locker to be played on Apple or Android phones.
The music retailer’s revamped website to be launched sometime next week will extend the ability of Mac OS X, BlackBerry 10, Windows PC and Windows smart phones users to listen to music tracks and buy digital music to other platforms.
Hilco Capital CEO and chairman of HMV, Paul McGowan, said “HMV’s position at the heart of entertainment retail demands that we enable customers to buy their music from HMV in the way that best suits them and to engage more closely with the music, video and gaming worlds”.
Hilco, which acquired HMV in April for £50 million, and saved around half of the company’s shops and around 2,500 jobs claimed that HMV’s new app is “the first non-iTunes-based service on Apple’s iOS platform to allow the purchase of digital music downloads through a native app experience”.
McGowan said that the company will also be revitalizing its YouTube channel and increase the number of live events organized in its stores expecting the measures will “start the journey towards enhancing the experience of interacting with the entertainment industry”.
