Deutsche Grammophon, the world’s leading classical music record label, has launched the DG Web Shop, a digital music store that offers the majority of the label’s recordings as MP3 downloads. Almost 2,500 DG albums will be available for download at a transfer bit-rate of 320 kilobits per second (kbps).

The label will be available in 40 countries, including areas where other digital music stores aren’t available: Southeast Asia, including China, India, Latin America, South Africa, and Central and Eastern Europe, including Russia.

Exposing The Long Tail

Among the highlights of the DG Web Shop are nearly 600 album titles which are no longer available as CDs. More out-of-print titles are expected to follow. The goal is to digitize all the great Deutsche Grammophon recordings to be available for download.

Individual titles with a playing time of up to seven minutes will be priced as low as $/‚Ǩ1.09; while regular-length albums ‚Äì with/without “e-booklets” (ie, cover-art, photographs, and liner notes) ‚Äì will sell for between $/‚Ǩ10.99 and $/‚Ǩ11.99.

“The DG Web Shop will play a defining role in the digital marketplace,” said Universal Music’s Christopher Roberts, “superior audio, easy-to-use and compatible with all players.”