TORONTO — A new music website in the works is promising fans the ability to download free tunes and videos through an ad-driven service.

SpiralFrog's target audience -- those between the ages of 13 and 34 -- will have to sit through advertising in order to access a database of Universal music and videos. As well, all downloads will be copy-protected, preventing users from transferring songs to a CD or sharing them with others.

The New York-based company said Tuesday it had signed a deal with Universal Music Group to make Universal's catalogue available for download in Canada and the United States, calling the service a legal boon to music nerds and college kids who frequent illegal sites.

"SpiralFrog will offer those consumers a better experience and environment than they can get from any pirate site,'' SpiralFrog's CEO Robin Kent said Tuesday in a release.

"This is the core audience we will attract by building a music-centric experience and destination that is second to none, legally delivering what the majority of users want -- content they pay for only with their time.''

Industry watcher Larry Leblanc called it a marketing tool for the record company and compared the ads-for-music exchange to what's already being done by radio.

"The only difference is, you're getting it over the Internet,'' said Leblanc, Canadian bureau chief for Billboard magazine.

Those who use SpiralFrog's service, set to go live in December, would only have access to Universal's catalogue of music, but it is vast, including tunes from U2, Kanye West and the Killers, and Canadians including Sarah Harmer and Rufus Wainwright.

The problem, Leblanc noted, is that many online music fans could care less who's on Universal's roster.

"There's a good part of the audience today that is not that interested in what the record companies are putting out,'' Leblanc said, noting peer-to-peer sharing in large part involves independent music or artists on smaller labels.

"The Internet has opened up the possibility that, quite frankly, you don't have to worry about what is in the North American Top 20.''

Free music and video on ad-supported sites is not new, but such services have generally been restricted to streaming, in which music and video files are not stored on a user's computer, limiting playback to when there is an Internet connection. SpiralFrog will offer downloads, permitting playback offline.

SpiralFrog will require users to return to the site and renew registration at least once a month or the tracks cease to play.

The company is in talks with other major recording companies on similar deals, said Lance Ford, chief marketing and sales officer.

The head of Canada's leading music downloading service questioned whether music fans would have the patience to sit through advertising when they could get unfettered tracks from other legal -- and illegal -- sources.

"There's no getting around the reality that you're going to have to listen to an ad and you're going to have to continually go back and listen to an ad in order to hear that song, and who is going to be attracted to do that?'' asked Alistair Mitchell, CEO of Puretracks.

The announcement follows years of litigation battles over downloading on both sides of the border.