Microsoft Ready to Join the Chorus
Software giant prepares for music downloading online
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By Richard J. Dalton Jr
STAFF WRITER
November 18, 2003
Microsoft will launch an online service to sell songs electronically next year, the company confirmed yesterday, joining heated competition among legitimate music services as computer users are retreating from illegal downloading.
The software giant will go up against Apple's iTunes, RealNetworks' Rhapsody service, Roxio's Napster and MusicMatch. Major retailers, including Wal-Mart and Amazon.com, might offer music downloading as well. And record labels might also join in to offer their own music online.
Consumers are increasingly obtaining songs online for about 99 cents each as downloading music becomes quicker through high-speed Internet access and as the recording industry cracks down on illegal downloading.
The number of people using Kazaa, one of the popular services that allows people to illegally share copyrighted music for free, has dropped from 7 million people the first week of June to 3.2 million last week, according to Nielsen/NetRatings, which monitors computer usage.
Meanwhile, legitimate services such as iTunes have been drawing more and more users. Consumers have purchased more than 17 million songs from iTunes since its launch in April, Apple reported earlier this month. Apple launched a version of iTunes for Microsoft Windows last month.
Microsoft would not provide details in advance of the launch of its service. But MSN group product manager Lisa Gurry said in a statement: "We are excited to confirm that MSN will deliver a download music service next year, and we look forward to sharing more details at a later date."
Microsoft has already started a download service in Europe, launching the MSN Music Club in the United Kingdom in August.
Wal-Mart spokeswoman Cynthia Lin wouldn't say if Wal-Mart is launching a music downloading service. But there are hints of such a service.
An online search revealed a site called digitalmusic.walmart.com, which offers a free downloadable bonus track of a song by Nickelback. The site also lists a tech-support line for digital media. A representative on the line referred media inquiries about a launch of a music service to company headquarters but added: "We've just been getting ready for it."
Lin said: "I have no idea what that site is ... At any given time, we're looking at a number of new services and product categories that we might consider offering online. And this is a service that we're currently looking at."
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