Best Buy Launches Online Music Service

Best Buy Co., the largest U.S. electronics retailer, said its BestBuy.com Internet division has started a Web site that allows users to purchase music on line by downloading digital files.

The site features music from the record labels of EMI Group, AOL Time Warner Inc. and Bertelsmann’s BMG unit. Best Buy hopes to add other record labels, said David Witzig, BestBuy.com’s director of digital entertainment media and services.

Downloads will cost about 99 cents to $1.99 for a single song and $9.99 to $15.99 for the equivalent of a full-length CD, Witzig said. Eden Prairie, Minn.-based Best Buy is still testing price ranges to see what consumers will be willing to pay.