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VH-1 to Begin Selling Advanced CDs Cable television music channel VH-1 unveiled on Tuesday a new service to sell CDs on the Internet weeks before they hit retail shelves. The service allows computer users to surf their way to www.VH1.com, where they can buy a CD for about the same price as in stores, listen to it on their PC and gain access to cover art, music notes and other material. When the CD is available in stores, a real CD will be mailed to online buyers.

Former Fleetwood Mac singer Stevie Nicks will launch the service entitled "VH-1 Hear Music First" on April 16th when she will make her new CD Trouble in Shangri-La available to fans at VH1.com before it lands in record stores on May 1st. Fred Graver, general manager of VH-1 Interactive group, said, "Hear Music First" will be the best way for music fans to get songs their friends can't get in advance of a CD's release, unless your friends are smart enough to buy it themselves."

Graver also stated that VH-1 will be working with major labels to entice artists to debut albums via "Hear Music First" and that the music downloads will be heavily encrypted so the songs can't be "burned," or written onto a blank CD or turned into digital music files which could be swapped by other users.

Compiled by Michael Harris