Universal to battle iTunes with rarities from LostTunes

So much for offering an “alternative to iTunes,” Universal just ripped the covers off LostTunes, its brand new music download service that offers exclusive content, rare recordings and long-lost tracks.

Unearthed by the musical mavens at Distorted Loop, the new site is powered by music download service 7Digital, and backed by Universal’s mammoth back catalogue. It includes tracks that (in some cases) have taken a year of trawling through archive boxes to rediscover. In short, if it’s on LostTunes, you won’t find it anywhere else.

Azi Eftekhari, Head of Digital and Media for Universal Music Catalogue explained to Distorted Loop: “We wanted Lost Tunes to replicate the experience of going to a favourite local record shop where browsing and discovering music is a real pleasure and an adventure. We only include music that we love.”

134 exclusive albums are live on LostTunes from day one, including The Walker Brothers’ ‘Live In Japan’, three albums by critically acclaimed Comsat Angels, Bill Fay’s eponymous album, UK blues Nine Below Zero, Mellow Candle and Oriental Sunshine, amongst many more.

Fiction Records is also getting involved in the launch, with a special re-recording by The Delays of their favourite ‘lost tunes’ for release on 1st September, while previously-unreleased material from The La’s will also hit on the same day.

All tracks will be sole free from DRM, and encoded as high quality 320kpbs MP3s. That means they’ll play (and sound great) on any MP3 player, iPod or mobile phone.

TBC | £TBC | Universal (via Distorted Loop)

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