Apple asks HMV to remove download feature from app

Apple has asked HMV to remove a feature allowing users of the company's new iPhone app to download music, the retailer says.

According to HMV's owner Hilco, Apple has said the app will be suspended unless changes are made on Monday (21 October).

HMV launched the iOS app alongside an Android version, both allowing users to identify songs using image and sound recognition software.

Apple has so far declined to comment.

Restructuring company Hilco bought HMV in April, after it fell into financial trouble earlier in the year.

Hilco claimed Apple had earlier approved the app but then raised concerns the day after it became available.

HMV chairman Paul McGowan tweeted: "Apple have politely asked us to remove the #hmvapp from the AppStore. We have politely declined."

He later added that "polite discussions continue" but suggested they would not make the changes requested by Apple.

The HMV app was seen as a potential challenge to Apple's iTunes service, Amazon and others.

"It's about the fact that there were two hundred million digital downloads last year and HMV didn't have one of those," said James Coughlan, managing director of HMV Digital.

In February, Apple announced it had sold 25 billion songs via its iTunes store.

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