When Matchbox 20's lead singer, Rob Thomas, was planning his first solo release late last year, he thought about ways to make the album a better value, in part to entice consumers who might be tempted to download his songs illegally.

"Obviously I don't want people to download my album," he said. "But you can't just complain that people are downloading music and not do anything."

In the past couple of years, some artists have included a second disc with bonus songs or a short DVD to win over potential file-sharers.

But Thomas's "Something to Be," set for release on April 19 by Atlantic, part of Warner Music Group, is among the first by a major artist to be released only on DualDisc, a format being introduced by the major labels that includes a traditional compact disc on one side and DVD content on the other. The DVD side includes the same album mixed in 5.1 surround sound so that it can be heard through home theater systems, as well as about 20 minutes of video - in Thomas's case, some documentary footage.

At a time the music business is still suing illegal file-sharers, who the industry says are costing it sales, the major music labels are hoping the DualDisc format will give them a multimedia carrot that can be used along with the legal stick. Because DualDisc albums have additional content but sell in most stores for only a dollar or two more than traditional CDs, they are marketed as a better value.

"They're trying to find some way to add value to the physical product," David Card of Jupiter Research said.

The industry also would like to add some convenience.

When Andrew Lack started as the head of Sony Music, now Sony BMG Music Entertainment, in 2003, he would bring home stacks of CDs and DVDs every night to become more familiar with the company's artists. New to the music business - he had been president of the NBC network - Lack was struck by how inconvenient it was to switch between the two formats.

"I was thinking, 'Wouldn't it be nice if we could flip this disc over and learn something about the artists?"' he said.

The idea was already in the works, so Lack decided to make the product one of his priorities. Over the past year, all the major labels agreed on specifications for the DualDisc, and no one label will control it. The Recording Industry Association of America is expected to license the logo.

Retailers, who have been squeezed in recent years by file-sharing and by cuts in promotional money from music labels, are enthusiastic about DualDisc.

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