From Issue #1 , Page #15

No need to hide that music in the dark deep crevices of your computer's hard drive. It seems as though there are a plethora of legal places to download music these days.

Now Sony has announced plans to join the musical revolution. After a series of trials, the new Connect online music service will launch in the U.S. this spring. "Because of our strong brand, great catalog of content and resources in hardware, Sony is in a unique position to offer consumers an easy-to-use, affordable service with the broadest choice of devices," says Jay Samit, general manager of Sony Connect.

Singles will be available for 99 cents, and entire albums for $9.95. It's similar to other services out there, such as Apple's iTunes, but Sony is banking on its reputation to put it ahead of the pack. "More people listen to digital music on Sony devices than any other," says Samit. In other words, why not have one-stop shopping?

At launch, the service will feature more than 500,000 tracks from a variety of major and independent music labels. Sony Connect plans to upgrade the service and the software continually for use with additional Sony products, as well as devices from other manufacturers. And plans are already in the works for upgraded software with more flexibility, features and tighter integration with Sony products by this summer.