Vinyl to iPod service to launch

Off the record...

Owners of old favourites on vinyl made unique by crackles and scratches, can now avoid consigning them to gather dust with the launch of a new service.

Selfridges store in Oxford Street, London, will load records onto today's state-of-the-art iPods allowing them to be played with or without crackles.

Creators say the SpeedPod service will appeal to those who bought albums on vinyl the first time round and DJs.

One record shop owner says it is a good idea but no substitute for real vinyl.

'Nostalgia and artwork'

Kristina Rate, managing director of SpeedPod, said: "There are two groups of people who have vinyl collections, those who bought albums the first time around but started buying CDs, resigning their albums to the shelf, and those who now buy vinyl to DJ with.

"Either way, with both groups, there's a lot of vinyl lying around that never gets played."

Chris Day, of Vinyl Resting Place in Croydon, south London, told BBC News there are many advantages to vinyl.

"For the older person, it is nostalgia. There is lovely artwork on the sleeve, the noise that it makes - it cracks, it pops. Many people don't particularly like the cleanness of CDs," he said.

"IPods will make a lot of sales but vinyl is still here to stay for a very long time."