While Apple's iTunes music download service has been doing very well ever since its launch over a year ago, Microsoft is ready to compete with the launch its MSN Music store along with its upcoming beta release of Windows Media Player 10 this Thursday. The store will initially offer a 99c per download only service and will likely offer other options such as a subscription based service in its final release of Windows Media Player 10. It is not clear what cost full albums will be sold at or what the size of its library will be.
Microsoft is entering the music market not as another revenue generator, but rather to advertise its Windows Media capabilities in order to encourage more companies to make use of its technology (including DRM) over competing audio visual formats. This also includes further locking consumers into Windows and other users to upgrade to Windows XP. However, Microsoft is also under close supervision by antitrust regulators in the US, EU and Japan. Microsoft is already being sued by Real Networks for shipping its media player with Windows.
Originally, Microsoft wanted their technology to be the centre of every home entertainment system, but so far it has not been all that successful, at least in the audio market. Microsoft may be the leading OS for computers, they are really not happy with its competitor Apple leading the way for portable audio device sales and music download purchases. Microsoft also expects its Janus technology to change things as a user can fill their Janus supporting player to the brim under a flat subscription of under $ 20 per month.
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The launch of Microsoft's iTunes rival will be timed along with the beta release of Microsoft's new Windows Media Player 10, expected on Thursday, sources say. The store will also be in beta mode, lacking some of the features that will be added later, sources said. People familiar with the company's plans say the MSN Music song store will have Web-based components, but will also depend heavily on its role inside the Media Player software. (That spot will be shared with other services, such as Napster, that use the Windows Media format to distribute their songs.) The store will offer 99-cent downloads for now, leaving the monthly subscription model to its other partners. Ultimately, it will offer some additional features, such as the ability for customers to chat with each other. "The simple fact is we believe in both advertising revenues and e-commerce revenues," Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates said in an interview with CNET News.com last week. "And so as you get people online comfortable with spending money...there will be companies that get to critical mass in terms of having those customer relationships and doing e-commerce." But for all the recent attention paid to digital music services like Apple's iTunes, analysts say Microsoft's entry is as much about Windows as it is about selling music. "This is strategic to Microsoft, as one piece of the overall Windows story," Jupiter Research analyst Michael Gartenberg said. "Microsoft needs to make sure that it can showcase all of its technology appropriately, reinforcing that vehicle as an up-to-date and extraordinarily competitive offering." Read the full rather lengthy story here. |
Once Microsoft launches its service, it will be interesting to compare how well it does with the initial week of the iTunes launch. Apple had been very successful with its iTunes service long before it became available to the PC. So far, Microsoft has not announced much else about its music service such as library size, album pricing and what type of restrictions will be in place on downloads.
Even if Microsoft does not sell as many tracks as iTunes initially, its upcoming Janus based technology could have a significant impact by allowing rented music to be placed on Janus supporting players. While some users are not fond of the idea of renting music, it will sure make many others think twice of forking out for costly permanent downloads, but instead pay a fixed rental charge for an unlimited amount of music. This will very likely be the most popular option with students and those on a low income. It is much like how paying a monthly subscription for a Cable / Satellite TV movie channel package can work out far better value than forking out for the same movies on DVD.
Feel free to discuss and find out more about music download services on our Music Downloads, P2P & Legal Issues Forum.
Source: CNET News - Music
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