Top executives at the major record companies have finally found an online music service that makes them excited about the digital future, sources said Monday.

The new service, developed by Apple Computer, offers Macintosh users many of the same capabilities that are already available from services previously endorsed by the labels. But the Apple offering won over music executives because it makes buying and downloading music as simple and nontechnical as buying a book from Amazon.com, one source said.

"This is exactly what the music industry has been waiting for,'' said one person familiar with the negotiations between the Cupertino computer maker and the labels. "It's hip. It's quick. It's easy. If people on the Internet are actually interested in buying music, not just stealing it, this is the answer.''

The new service would only be available to users of Apple's Macintosh line computers and iPod portable music players, who have been largely overlooked by the legitimate online music services. Although no licensing deals have been announced, sources close to the situation say at least four of the five major record companies have committed their music. The service could be launched as early as next month.

Eschewing the MP3 format, Apple's service will be based on Dolby's AAC (Advanced Audio Coding not Codec, as the LA Times report mistakenly states) in order to tie each track to a specific Mac and thus prevent unauthorised duplication. Users will be able to copy tracks to an iPod, suggesting that an update to the music player's software is in the works too.

Apple's spin, relayed by the LA Times' over-enthusiastic and, we suspect, quasi-official deep throat, is that music executives are excited over how easy to use the new service is. The irony is that Apple has had such a move forced on it by an industry increasingly employing copy protection schemes, almost all of which support only PC playback. The major labels' online music sales sites are Windows only.