LOS ANGELES – A U.S. distributor of independent music is offering songs for about 3 cents apiece online in China, where people have easy access to free, pirated music.

The Wawawa Music Store site opened for business Friday offering a subscription service that allows 88 MP3 downloads a month for 20 yuan – the price of a hamburger meal at a Chinese McDonald's, or about $2.93.

The cut rate is meant to raise the bar and encourage Chinese to pay for legitimate music in a country where song files from top artists are available free on sites like Baidu.com.

“Right now the bar is free,” said Kevin Arnold, the founder and chief executive of the San Francisco-based Independent Online Distribution Alliance, a digital clearing house for artists who haven't signed with major record labels like Sony BMG, EMI Group PLC, Warner Music Group Corp. or Vivendi SA's Universal Music Group.

“We're trying to put something out there that is a valuable offering in the selection and service at a reasonable price point and see how people react,” he said.

The group will distribute more than a million recordings through Wawawa from artists such as Bob Marley & The Wailers, David Byrne and the San Francisco Symphony.

Chinese distribution partner R2G, a ringtone distributor, set up and operates the Web site.

R2G's vice president of strategy development, Mathew Daniel, said the venture is targeting Chinese music aficionados looking outside the mainstream.

“Everybody has been downloading full-length music for free but the selection is not as exhaustive as what it could be,” Daniel said. “The lesser known artists – their music is still good.”

---