Sky is to challenge the dominance of Apple’s iTunes with the launch of a new music download service and has already signed up Universal Music, whose artists include U2, Kanye West and Amy Winehouse, as launch partner

The new service will be available for a single monthly subscription that will allow customers to either stream songs on-demand for immediate listening or download tracks for playback at any time.

Sky will offer a range of subscription options and also enable customers to listen to songs on a wide range of devices. Downloaded tracks will work on any MP3-compatible fixed or portable device, including iPods, MP3 players and mobile phones.

The new service is scheduled to launch later this year and further details such as pricing and branding will be announced at a later date.

It’s about time someone challenged iTunes. Hopefully this will mean lower costs as currently £7.99 for an album on iTunes is a little steep. It’s also good to see another service out there where people can download music legally from a safe and reliable source that doesn’t exploit the music industry.