MUMBAI: PonoMusic, a new high resolution music store and player founded by legendary musician Neil Young, has joined the Music Business Association (Music Biz) as its newest member. Built on the belief that music should be heard in the highest resolution possible, PonoMusic offers high-quality, uncompressed FLAC files for purchase at its PonoMusic.com store, which recently opened in the U.S. Customers can play these files on the specially-designed PonoPlayer, a portable device that is now in the hands of those who contributed to the company's mega-successful $6-million-plus Kickstarter campaign.

"We're extremely excited to welcome PonoMusic as a member," said James Donio, president of Music Biz. "It's clear from the way that music fans continue to embrace vinyl in greater numbers year after year, and now with the incredible success of PonoMusic's Kickstarter campaign, that sound quality is truly valued. We're looking forward to PonoMusic's formal introduction to our community at Music Biz 2015 in Nashville this May."

"Music Biz has long been a champion of new audio formats, and we're glad to have their support as we launch PonoMusic," said Randy Leasure, VP of Business Development and Content Marketing at PonoMusic. "We're pleased to work with our fellow Music Biz members as we strive to bring quality audio back to the forefront of the industry, without sacrificing ease of use. In this way, we can ensure that artists will be able to present their work as it was intended to be heard, while fans can quickly and easily find, purchase, and listen to their favorite albums."

PonoMusic was founded in 2012 by legendary musician Neil Young, who has long been an advocate for higher digital audio quality. In March 2014, Young revealed the company's high resolution music service and portable PonoPlayer device at SXSW, launching a Kickstarter project to support its impending launch. By the time the campaign closed the following month, it had brought in more than eight times its goal of $800,000 to become the third-highest-grossing project in the site's history. The PonoMusic store officially launched in January 2015, and the PonoPlayer was shipped to those who contributed to the Kickstarter campaign. The PonoPlayer is now being sold at many audio and record outlets that include Fry's Electronics, Amoeba Music, and many other independent record retailers with plans to expand its retail distribution.