Tesco out of MP3s, Deezer flat

Tesco has announced that it will close its MP3 download store at the end of this month. The news comes just over two months after the company bought a 91% stake in music streaming service We7 for £10.8 million. And streaming service Deezer has seen flat growth for the last six months with its subscriber base still at 1.5 million, despite a tie up with telco Orange.

Music sales down at HMV and Tesco

HMV has announced like for like sales dropped 15.1% in the 18 weeks to the 3rd September whilst the UK's major retailer, Tesco, announced a 0.5% drop in sales said that music CDs and DVDs had been hard hit. Teco blamed the high cost of fuel and the economic downturn as major factors in the drop in sales. HMV has said it will continue to focus on 'high growth' markets such as the live music side of the business.

UK retail giant join ticketing market

Ticketenews.com reports that Tesco, the UK's giant retail and grocery chain which takes 8% of all retail spending, is launching an initiative to sell concert tickets without added fees in a move that could instantly make it a force in the country's ticketing industry. The retailer will offer tickets to several outdoor shows at venues at horse racing tracks in the UK this summer, as part of a family friendly entertainment package. Prices will start at £12 ($19.72) per ticket and be capped at £33 ($54.22).