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Looks Like iTunes Is About To Get A Serious Competitor

Posted by: Arik Hesseldahl on April 04

On the very day that Apple learned that during the months of January and February, it was the leading music vendor in the U.S. outdistancing Wal-Mart, Best-Buy and all the rest, it learned that it has a new competitor online: MySpace.

As reported yesterday by my colleague Catherine Holahan, MySpace, with its 30 million registered users, has signed a bunch of the major record labels to join a new music store effort of its own. Chances are a similar effort will come to fruition with Facebook too.

This is good news. First, the music industry has been eager to find someone – anyone – they can do business with online other than Apple, who has the kind of critical mass needed to offer real competition. Rhapsody isn’t there, nor are any of the others, including Amazon.

MySpace will be offering DRM-free downloads and streams, plus videos, and then selling merchandise alongside it all. Sounds great. If it sticks with MP3 format, then the music will be compatible with the iPod. Even better.

Now that Apple is the big dog in the music business, having pulled ahead of everyone else in the business, a new competitor online will do it good.

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Reader Comments

Roberto Felgueiras

April 4, 2008 02:02 PM

My Space is no longer relevant.

Bob

April 4, 2008 02:41 PM

It's a shame that the writer didn't consider Wal Mart, Best Buy, Rhapsody as REAL competition. I doubt those entities felt the same way.

Nalin

April 5, 2008 12:20 PM

It could be AAC as well... as long as there us bno DRM... will work just fine with ipods

tim

April 5, 2008 07:44 PM

What are you talking about Eric. Apple doesn't hurt the industry, they repair all the crap the music execs have done. Wake up.

There will be blood...

April 6, 2008 08:58 PM

MP3 format is obsolete. There's a reason it's the only format those $10 players in blister-packs at Walgreen's will play.

You should have said "If it sticks with the AAC format", since that standard is better quality and is also "compatible" with the iPod. It's the format Apple uses on iTunes (AAC is open and has nothing to do with DRM).

As for MySpace, it will just be more wasted money on iTunes competitor pipe-dreams (after online stores by WalMart, Sony, Rhapsody, Napster, Microsoft, and many others).

Oh, and more blood on the iPod, as Apple beats another company that doesn't "get it".

eric

April 7, 2008 12:04 AM

i don't have a myspace acct and aren't likely to get one. i do have a facebook but don't use it much. i think i'll stick with itunes.

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A blog on the daily doings of Apple and the many companies in its orbit, with insight and analysis by two longtime Apple-watchers BusinessWeek Senior Writer Peter Burrows and BusinessWeek.com Senior Technology Writer Arik Hesseldahl.

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