Wednesday, July 02, 2008
Rhapsody vs. iTunes: Who will be left standing?
byOnline music service Rhapsody this week threw a couple of punches at Apple’s iTunes by announcing a host of new features and offerings that will certainly heat up the online music download arena.
Rhapsody is raising the bar by offering a new Web-based music store that sells universally compatible (DRM-free) MP3 files from all four major music labels (Universal Music Group, Sony BMG, Warner, and EMI), as well as a selection of independent labels.
Here’s the breakdown on what users can now expect from Rhapsody:
1) It will offer MP3’s free of digital rights management
2) It will match iTunes $.99 pricing per song
3) It will allow users access to full-length previews of songs
4) It will provide new ways for users to listen to and download music outside of its initial proprietary application
5) It will team up with new partners
Rhapsody’s new music alternative differs from that of other industry giants like Amazon and iTunes because, potential buyers can preview up to 25 full tracks per month. Most other music stores currently only allow for a 30 second preview.
Rhapsody is also unveiling some of its newest partners- MTV, iLike and Yahoo with their music store launch. The iLike partnership is particularly significant because it extends Rhapsody onto Facebook and other social networks.
Surprisingly, music purchased off the Rhapsody store is not shackled by Digital Rights Management (DRM) software. Any tracks and or albums bought from the music store can be seamlessly downloaded into Rhapsody, RealPlayer or even iTunes. () Rhapsody (owned by RealNetworks) is matching Apple’s current pricing: $.99 per song, or $9.99 per album.
Neowin.net reports that Rhapsody will continue running its music subscription service that is incompatible with iPods. Users pay a monthly fee, starting at $12.99, for access to a large catalog of songs, which can be transferred to a portable device but are rigged with Windows Media DRM to disappear if the subscription lapses.
Earlier this year, Rhapsody joined forces with TiVo to enable TiVo users to access the Rhapsody music service through their service devices. Ultimately, TiVo subscribers can search for and play music directly from their TiVo box.
Rhapsody also is working with the VCast service from Verizon Wireless. For those VCast customers who become Rhapsody subscribers, they can pay $15.00 a month and then $2.00 per track, the music will be delivered directly to their phone with additional copy downloads to their PC’s still in the MP3 format.
With all these companies coming together with Rhapsody, one thing is clear: Rhapsody is creating a joint music initiative to take on Apple’s iTunes powerhouse.
Right now, in order to promote the store even more, Rhapsody is giving away a MP3 album to everyone who registers before July 4. The company also intends on publicizing the deal by spending around $50 million on marketing next year.
While it remains to be seen who will win the music downloading battle, things just got a lot more competitive. And to many consumers, that’s music to their ears.
