OD2 aims to steal Apple march
By Rhys Blakely
OD2, the digital music provider, today announced it had joined forces with Microsoft in a surprise move aimed at upstaging tomorrow's long awaited European launch of Apple's iTunes service.
The SonicSelector service, unveiled today in London, breaks new ground in allowing users to purchase tracks from OD2 through Microsoft's Windows Media Player.
OD2, until recently the dominant force in digital music in Europe, hopes that Media Player's pre-instalment on a huge number of computers will give SonicSelector an advantage in an increasingly competitive online music market.
Previously, OD2, which relies on e-tail partners to market its products, had stayed one step ahead of its competitors largely through the agreements it signed with major music labels, which bolstered the choice of music it offered to its subscribers.
From tomorrow, however, OD2 will face much stiffer competition from the launch of iTunes. Apple will hope that its service will ride on the same wave of consumer enthusiasm that made its iPod MP3 player an instant hit.
Meanwhile, other well-funded rivals such as the reformed Napster, owned by Roxio, which was launched in Europe last month, have been successful in offering users substantial catalogues. Sony is expected to launch its Connect service later this year.
The music industry has chosen to embrace digital distribution since it became clear that online pirate sites, where music lovers share tracks online for free, were hitting their revenues.
Hoping to tap into a similar ideology, the SonicSelector upgrade will also be available for free. Once installed it will allow users to select from an initial catalogue of 350,000 tracks, which they will be able to listen to once for a penny, or to store for future unlimited use for 75p.
It also features a pricing scheme that the company claims will make the biggest hits progressively cheaper. "The more tracks people buy, the cheaper the unit price becomes," Charles Grimsdale, OD2's chief executive, said.
SonicSelector will also allow users to transfer tracks to over 60 portable music players that run on Media Player. Apple's iTune service has been criticised as it only works in conjunction with Apple's iPod MP3 player.
However, OD2 will rely on its e-tail partners to market the product, some of whom already offer rival services
