MUMBAI: Warner Music and 7digital.com have extended their partnership that will see high quality MP3 music downloads from Warner Music made available across Europe.

Warner Music is the first major to sign a pan-European MP3 deal with 7digital and the retailer is now selling MP3s in a higher number of countries in Europe than any other service.

From this month, 7digital stores in France, Belgium, Netherlands, Italy and Portugal will join those in the UK, Ireland, Spain, Austria, Switzerland and Germany that are already stocked with MP3 downloads from Warner Music’s roster of local and international artists. These 11 stores will be followed by further rollout from 7digital in additional countries across Europe.

The partnership allows 7digital’s extensive partner network, which includes Spotify, Last.fm, AOL’s WinAmp and the open-source Songbird player, to further monetise their European audiences through MP3 download sales in an unprecedented number of European countries.

7digital CEO Ben Drury said, "The completion of this deal gives us the broadest European reach of any MP3 download store. We have seen a dramatic rise in digital album sales since switching to a 100% MP3 catalogue in the UK last September and this is a natural progression to that trend. As well as providing music fans access to high quality MP3 downloads, the deal provides our partners with the capacity to target a wider consumer audience across Europe."

"Using our API, services like Spotify will be able to make one-click downloads a reality, meaning users will only be one step away from owning an MP3 of their favourite track. Multiple click purchasing is a big barrier for consumers, and this is the kind of issue we’re aiming to overcome to drive MP3 sales in Europe," he added.

Warner Music Europe senior vice president, digital business Eric Daugan said, "Music fans are now enjoying a whole spectrum of ways to engage with artists online but often they still want to own the music they discover and love as well as play it on their portable device. We’re pleased to be working with 7digital to further expand access to high quality, interoperable music downloads in Europe as well as through 7digital’s network of partners such as Spotify create versatile fan experiences where consumers can quickly and easily collect immersive products from our world-class roster of established and up-and-coming artists."