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Amazon has today announced plans to give free MP3 downloads to customers who have purchased physical music release - covering anything dating back to 1999.

The online retailer has revealed it has worked out a deal with record companies to give free MP3 downloads to customers who have bought music on CD, vinyl or cassette in the past 14 years from their store.

"What would you say if you bought CDs, vinyl or even cassettes from a company 14 years ago and then 14 years later that company licensed the rights from the record companies to give you the MP3 versions of those albums and then, to top it off, did that for you automatically?" Says Amazon founder Jeff Bezos in a statement introducing the new service.

"Well starting today, it’s available to all of our Amazon.co.uk customers – past, present and future at no cost. We love these opportunities to do something extra for our customers."

The move comes as the music retail industry attempts to reposition itself after the demise of HMV earlier this year. The chain axed jobs and closed stores across the country earlier in 2013, leaving the high street without a major music retailer.