SanDisk announced the upcoming release of its new microSD card called slotMusic, which will contain music in MP3 format free of DRM (digital rights management). The new product will be playable on all sorts of devices such as mobile phones. The storage space is 1 Giga Byte and users will be able to transfer their data directly from a PC using a USB (Universal Serial Bus).

The company will release the card in collaboration with Warner Music, Sony BMG, Universal Music and EMI Music in order to provide users with a wide variety of tunes. The record companies are continuously looking for new ways of boosting their revenues, as the declining music sales continue at an alarming rate, so such an innovative initiative was happily received and the companies have great expectations with this project.

For starters, slotMusic will be available in the United States in numerous shops and on-line stores such as Best Buy and Wal-Mart. Once everything will be set in the U.S. a launch is also expected for the European market. At this point there are no details available about the song archives but SanDisk explained that a list with pricing and availability will be soon released, in order to properly prepare for the upcoming holiday season. The only thing mentioned on the official Web site is that the new format will include "the year's biggest releases."

The release has the potential to become a market leader, as unlike the introduction of CDs or DVDs which demanded the additional buy of a new player, SanDisk’s product works on many of today’s devices.

Daniel Schreiber, general manager of SanDisk's audio-video business unit, talked about the features that offer slotMusic a unique advantage, as it is compatible with a huge variety of devices that people already own. "Particularly in this kind of economic climate, the idea of being able to use an electronic device you already own to enjoy music rather than going out and buying a dedicated player is pretty compelling […] I don't have to convince you to buy anything; you already own it," he said. "I don't have to convince you to carry anything; you're already carrying it."

slotMusic targets all the owners of a mobile phone or a MP3 player with a MicroSD slot, and having such a huge potential market could easily transfer in massive gains for all the companies involved. The issue now is to prepare a good advertising campaign that will raise the awareness of the general public and also come out with a competitive offer that will make users forget about CDs, discs and Internet downloads.

Rio Caraeff, executive vice president of Universal Music Group's eLabs digital music unit, talked about the collaboration, which will initially offer customers about 30 titles in the slotMusic format, with artists such as Akon, Weezer, Usher, Chris Brown and Leona Lewis. "We want to provide the benefits of digital music to people who go to physical retail environments," he explained, as quoted by the Associated Press.