Vivendi Universal has launched into the online music market, laying claim to part of the market left by now-defunct song swapping site Napster.

Vivendi said it would make available for internet download about 43,000 tracks from the songs owned by its Universal Music Group unit, with plans to take its entire catalogue online.

The tracks, from a UMG artist portfolio which includes Eminem, Shania Twain and U2, will be sold for $0.99 when buying individual songs, and $9.99 for albums.

"This is a watershed moment," said Larry Kenswil, president of Universal Music Group's eLabs.

"Universal is committed to making every recording it controls available for internet distribution.

"We have listened to the public, and we are offering the music that people want at a reasonable price that fairly compensates the artists, songwriters and the tens of thousands of hard-working individuals who make their living in the music industry,"

Rise and fall

The announcement comes as Napster, the flagship for a fleet of illegal song-swapping sites, is being sold to Roxio, which makes CD-burning software, for $5.3m (�3.6m) in cash and shares.

Napster was once phenomenally popular, allowing music lovers to download songs for free.

But it closed after a legal battle with music companies, including Vivendi Universal, which were concerned over the loss of revenues to individual users, and the threat Napster posed to efforts to quell piracy.

Rival scheme

Vivendi claimed on Wednesday to be the first major label "to offer music fans such a broad catalogue of music tracks for preview and purchase" online.

But the initiative comes the week after EMI signed a similar deal with nine US digital music distributors.

'This is the next step in our plan to give consumers our music in the formats they are demanding today," said David Munns, head of EMI Recorded Music North America, launching the initiative.