Universal Music, the world's largest record group, has acknowledged the growing power of iTunes by pricing back-catalogue CDs in line with their download versions.

Universal is to split its CDs into three price and product ranges in Europe to revitalise a format that accounts for more than 90% of record sales. The most significant change is the introduction of a "basic" CD for older recordings, such as the Killers' Hot Fuss, that will wrap the album in a card case with no sleeve notes.

Universal expects the basic CDs, which it calls the record equivalent of paperbacks, to sell for €9.99 (£6.92) - in line with the average cost of a chart album download. More than 3m "basic" albums were sold when Universal tested the format on European markets last year.

---