Apparently Apple's efforts to save album saies weren't enough for the big four record companies, or perhaps executives realized that they might not make quite as much bank if they tied themselves to the iTunes format. Whatever the reason, labels are currently developing a new digital format to compete with Apple's as yet unseen "Cocktail" project. A source speaking anonymously said that the labels approached Apple with their ideas, but were rebuffed and decided to pursue their own course of action. Details are sketchy at this point, but increased video and mobile content as well as a "launch page" format are the main innovations. It's actually kind of cute that the labels think they have a chance of besting Apple in the arena of online music. Maybe they should talk to the inventors of the Betamax and HD DVD to get some pointers on beating a format with a major company behind it. [NME]