Less than a week after Starbucks launched an in-store CD-burning service with Hewlett-Packard technology, McDonald’s is rumored to be partnering with Sony Connect to put music on its menu this spring.

The two companies are reported to be finalizing a deal by which McDonald’s would provide its customers with free downloads from Sony Connect, Sony’s new online music store set to debut this spring. In turn, Sony Connect will reap the benefits of McDonald’s estimated $30 million advertising push behind the promotion, The Los Angeles Times reported.

The companies could announce deal specifics as early as this week. Sony declined comment on the McDonald’s partnership but did say they are speaking to potential partners. McDonald’s did not return calls for comment.

McDonald’s global presence could catapult the launch of the Sony Connect service, making the new service a key competitor to similar services such as Apple’s iTunes and Roxio’s Napster. The service is slated to debut with more than 500,000 songs to be sold at 99 cents each.

As part of the deal, McDonald’s will buy music from Sony Connect at unspecified discounts and give away free tunes to customers when they purchase certain menu items. Those menu items will contain codes that can be redeemed online for free downloads.

McDonald’s reportedly had been working on a partnership deal with Apple’s iTunes service, but switched to Sony Connect at the last minute, according to news reports.

This marks Sony Connect’s second major download deal. In January it inked a deal with United Airlines to provide music rewards to United Mileage Plus members. Upon launch of the Connect service, members will be able to earn and redeem miles points for music on a Sony co-branded Mileage Plus music Web site.

Starbucks last week launched a retail music service that will roll into 2,500 stores by 2006. Customers choose from 250,000 songs listed on a Hewlett-Packard tablet computer. They can either listen to the music while dining at Starbucks or burn songs onto a CD for a cost of $7 for five songs or $13 for an album.

Less than a week after Starbucks launched an in-store CD-burning service with Hewlett-Packard technology, McDonald’s is rumored to be partnering with Sony Connect to put music on its menu this spring.

The two companies are reported to be finalizing a deal by which McDonald’s would provide its customers with free downloads from Sony Connect, Sony’s new online music store set to debut this spring. In turn, Sony Connect will reap the benefits of McDonald’s estimated $30 million advertising push behind the promotion, The Los Angeles Times reported.

The companies could announce deal specifics as early as this week. Sony declined comment on the McDonald’s partnership but did say they are speaking to potential partners. McDonald’s did not return calls for comment.

McDonald’s global presence could catapult the launch of the Sony Connect service, making the new service a key competitor to similar services such as Apple’s iTunes and Roxio’s Napster. The service is slated to debut with more than 500,000 songs to be sold at 99 cents each.

As part of the deal, McDonald’s will buy music from Sony Connect at unspecified discounts and give away free tunes to customers when they purchase certain menu items. Those menu items will contain codes that can be redeemed online for free downloads.

McDonald’s reportedly had been working on a partnership deal with Apple’s iTunes service, but switched to Sony Connect at the last minute, according to news reports.

This marks Sony Connect’s second major download deal. In January it inked a deal with United Airlines to provide music rewards to United Mileage Plus members. Upon launch of the Connect service, members will be able to earn and redeem miles points for music on a Sony co-branded Mileage Plus music Web site.

Starbucks last week launched a retail music service that will roll into 2,500 stores by 2006. Customers choose from 250,000 songs listed on a Hewlett-Packard tablet computer. They can either listen to the music while dining at Starbucks or burn songs onto a CD for a cost of $7 for five songs or $13 for an album.