CHINA: In the latest effort to undermine the market for pirated music downloads in China, an independent US distributor has linked up with a Chinese partner to offer over one million songs for two cents each online.

The Independent Online Distribution Alliance (IODA) has linked up with ringtone distributor R2G to form the Wawawa Music Store site, which will allow customers in China to subscribe to download up to 88 MP3s a month for 20 yuan, less than €2.

Pitching the downloads at a relatively low rate is aimed at encouraging Chinese customers, 85 per cent of whom listen to music online, to pay for legitimate music. Currently, song files from top artists are available free on sites like Baidu.com.

Wawawa becomes China's largest digital music store with the launch of the partnership and it is the first time foreign independents have had a legal way into China's growing market for downloads.

The service is created exclusively for mainland Chinese consumers and all the songs are delivered in DRM-free MP3 format via a monthly subscription plan. All downloads are permanently owned by the customer - even beyond their subscription period. The service is also aimed at being easy for webizens who use internet cafes to download music, as the service allows subscribers to stream from any location with an internet connection.

"Wawawa opens this huge new market to the independent sector for the first time with an offering that we believe is the right combination of convenience, price and content selection for the increasingly adventurous Chinese music fan," said Kevin Arnold, founder and chief executive of the San Francisco-based IODA.