One of the most ambitious music sites comes from Cerberus Central, a company which is attempting to transform the future of music through its Internet-based hi-fi system. The Cerberus Digital Jukebox aims to replace CD mail order systems with digital distribution, which allows users to purchase CD-quality audio online. When a customer logs on, snippets of songs can be obtained for free. A full song requires registration. Users send the Jukebox their personal details and credit card number via a piece of software called Cercure ATM. The Jukebox then creates a unique player including the customer's personal details. When customers want to order a song, their details are typed in. Cercure ATM finds the nearest Jukebox server, retrieves and encodes the audio file and copies it onto the customer's hard drive. John Richardson, company secretary at Cerberus,

explains: 'The company was set up in 1994 to form an Internet system for music distribution. We then spent a year and a half collecting royalty licences for the likes of the Performing Rights Society and the Mechanical Copyright Protection Society (MCPS) as well as other licensing bodies worldwide.' The market has yet to establish itself but Richardson says the company has made a profit and, by offering tracks for around 60p, looks set to make more. 'We've been self-financing for the last two years and have made money by licensing out the jukebox,' he says. 'In two years, the music industry has turned around and record labels are now coming to us. In my opinion, digital distribution will be on a par with CD sales in two years.' Whether Cerberus has ideas above its station remains to be seen. Many sites offer downloadable samples and songs but the very nature of downloading music to a PC restricts its mobility - who wants to lug a PC around under their arm in place of a personal stereo?