Time is reporting that U2 and Apple are working on a new music file format that will actually temp users into purchasing music again. This follows their collaboration to beam U2’s latest album, Songs Of Innocence, directly to the accounts all 500 million iTunes users. (Apple had reportedly paid U2 $100 million for use of the album.)

The details of the file format plan come from a preview of Time’s upcoming cover story. “Bono tells Time he hopes that a new digital music format in the works will prove so irresistibly exciting to music fans that it will tempt them again into buying music — whole albums as well as individual tracks,” the story preview reads. “The point isn't just to help U2 but less well known artists and others in the industry who can't make money, as U2 does, from live performance. 'Songwriters aren't touring people,' says Bono. 'Cole Porter wouldn't have sold T-shirts. Cole Porter wasn't coming to a stadium near you.'”

Bono says that the band’s next record is “about 18 months away” and will be released under the new file formant. “I think it’s going to get very exciting for the music business,” he tells Time (via Billboard), “[it will be] an audiovisual interactive format for music that can’t be pirated and will bring back album artwork in the most powerful way, where you can play with the lyrics and get behind the songs when you’re sitting on the subway with your iPad or on these big flat screens. You can see photography like you’ve never seen it before.”

Not much more has been revealed about the file format. It will be an interesting move for Apple, who recently also acquired Beats and its Beats Music streaming service. Let us know your thoughts.