April 30, 2008

By By Robert Thompson, Toronto

Specialist independent music e-tailer eMusic has launched its Canadian music site.

Boasting content from 33,000 indie labels and audio book publishers, eMusic says its Canadian offering will provide "a superior selection of music from Canadian independent labels."

The site, which offers tracks in the DRM-free MP3 format, says its offerings include key Canadian labels such as Nettwerk, Arts & Crafts, Justin Time, Secret City Records, Mint Records and Paper Bag as well as Canadian artists including Arcade Fire, Feist, Destroyer, Sarah McLachlan, and Tegan and Sara.

"We are excited to introduce the most diverse catalogue of independent music in the world to Canadian music fans and provide a download service that not only caters specifically to their needs, but offers great value and tracks in the universally compatible MP3 format," says David Pakman, eMusic CEO, in a statement.

The basic service for 30 downloads a month will cost Canadian $11.99 ($11.88), while an audio book download is also priced at $11.99.

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