June 05, 2007

By By Ayala Ben-Yehuda, L.A.

In a pioneering move for a market plagued by piracy, Mexican indie label Noiselab and music downloading/streaming Web site Beon.com have partnered to create a legal MP3 store.

Since a testing phase began in April, Beon.com's MP3 offerings have grown to 250 tracks, with more than 600,000 songs from Mexican and international indie labels licensed to Noiselab expected to be added by year's end.

MP3 tracks are going for 13 pesos each ($1.20 U.S.). Noiselab, which licenses albums from indies like Merge and Rough Trade for physical release in Mexico, also books concerts -- and will partner with Beon.com to stream them online as part of a co-branding initiative.

Customers will be able to purchase MP3's with a credit card, a prepaid card sold at Grupo Sanborns stores and eventually via their phones.

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