PHILADELPHIA – The Philadelphia Orchestra will become the first major U.S. orchestra to open its own online music store for consumers who want to download performances.
While other orchestras make their performances available online, they have done so through third-party distributors. The Philadelphia Orchestra will be the first in the U.S. to sell the downloads directly through its Web site, officials said.
"It's one more way we can address the changing media landscape and get the orchestra sound out there," spokeswoman Katherine Blodgett said Thursday.
Prices for MP3-format recordings range from about $5 for major works to $10 for full concerts. A CD-quality format called FLAC will cost a bit more.
The online store comes after the orchestra and its unionized musicians resolved a disagreement over fees for concert recordings and for radio broadcasts, which have resumed after a nearly 10-year absence.
The orchestra expects to offer at least a dozen new downloads each season.
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