A new type of album that combines singer and hardware will soon be released. For the first time in the local pop music market, an album will be released in the form of an mp3 file, and not a CD. Latin dance singer Oliver, who debuted last year, announced that her 2nd album scheduled to be released in early May will be in the form of an mp3 file featuring 15 new songs. This is not only the first time in the Korean pop music market that a singer’s official album is being released in the form of an electronic product but it’s also among one of the few such cases in the international market. Oliver’s agency said that to release an mp3 album is a good alternative to tackling the chronic issue of on-line piracy of pop music. The agency added that Oliver’s new album will only be available in the mp3 player-type excluding the PR CDs distributed to broadcasting stations and other media. The two partners for the project, Starforum and EziMax, have already applied for a patent for this new type of music album. Consumers who purchase the mp3 player album will be able to utilize the hardware just like a regular product if they separate Oliver’s songs from it.