Joining the likes of Rough Guides and Putamayo, National Geographic is getting into the world music game. But instead of selling country- and genre-themed CDs, the new initiative, dubbed National Geographic World Music, will sell digital downloads in open MP3 format for 99 cents apiece.

Tinariwen

The service is a partnership with several companies, including Calabash Music, Link TV, Afropop Worldwide, and Global Rhythm, with Calabash providing the catalog. The venture also includes extensive information about the music, including images, videos, maps, and features.

"National Geographic felt that music was a great bridge to culture and geography, and at its core National Geographic is inspiring people to care about the planet and who's on it and their cultures," musician and former Palm Pictures executive David Beal, who has been working on the launch of National Geographic World Music for the past year, said in a statement.

"People come to National Geographic to read books and magazines, to watch films and television, to shop and to explore nationalgeographic.com, but they've never truly had a pure listening experience, until now," he continued. "By exposing these incredible artists to the National Geographic audience, they'll hopefully begin to find a larger audience and receive the recognition they deserve."

The site launched behind three popular world music artists: Anglo-Colombian collective Sidestepper, Malian guitar group Tinariwen, and Brazilian singer Seu Jorge.