Record labels EMI Music, Sony BMG, Universal Music and Warner Music have joined forces with memory card maker SanDisk for a new form in which people can own tangible, physical music. The technology, called slotMusic, is basically an entire album on a MicroSD compact memory card. slotMusic cards will contain music in MP3 format without DRM (digital rights management). The cards will hold 1 gigabyte of data, which means they will contain a full album and related content such as liner notes, cover art and videos. Buyers will be able to use extra space on the cards to add songs and photos from their own collections which they can upload using a USB (Universal Serial Bus) adapter that comes with the card. slotMusic cards will be playable on any cell phone and MP3 player that has a MicroSD slot.

Wal-Mart and Best Buy are among the retailers that have already signed on to start selling the cards for the upcoming holiday season, though artists whose albums will be offered have yet to be announced.

The Web site slotmusic.org explains, "slotMusic cards enable consumers to instantly and easily enjoy music from their favorite artists without being dependent on a PC or internet connection. Users simply insert the slotMusic card into their microSD-enabled mobile phone or MP3 player to hear the music – without passwords, downloading or digital rights management interfering with their personal use. slotMusic cards will be bundled with a tiny USB sleeve ensuring seamless interoperability with all computers – Windows, Linux and Mac. The upshot is that slotMusic will enjoy an unparalleled, pre-existing install base at launch: hundreds of millions of multimedia-phones, virtually any computer with a USB connector and a growing number of in-car sound systems will be able to play slotMusic cards."