Warner Music looks to DVDs as alternative to CDs

Warner Music Group is planning to start releasing music on DVDs, bundling songs with extras such as videos, ring tones and photos, according to a published report.

Citing unnamed sources, the Wall Street Journal said Friday that Warner's plan is in its final stages and that Warner will offer the new format to subsidiary record labels as early as next week.

The new specially equipped DVDs could hit store shelves sometime in October, the Journal said.

Record companies are trying to find an alternative to CDs, which are losing ground to digital recordings and online music stores such as Apple Computer's iTunes.

The potential downside of the Warner plan is that the music DVDs won't play on normal CD players and will likely be more expensive than CDs, according to the Journal story.