Once again there is news on a company releasing an online music downloading service. This time RealNetworks Inc. has announced that they will bring their Rhapsody music download service to Europe. The European music downloading business is emerging and thus the American company hopes to cash in. RealNetworks is to launch the European version of Rhapsody in the second half of this year:
|
Also in the hunt are Apple Computer Inc.'s iTunes and Roxio Inc.'s Napster, the two most recognizable brands to music download fans, which are widely expected to make their Continental debut in mid-2004. The band of new entrants will go head-to-head with some of Europe's biggest music retailers including Britain's HMV (HMV.L) and Virgin MegaStores, plus download stores run by Microsoft's MSN and Tiscali (TIS.MI). Rhapsody carries a catalog of 385,000 songs for Web streaming and more than 275,000 for permanent download of such artists as Elvis and Pink Floyd. It is now available only to U.S. customers who pay a $ 9.95 monthly subscription fee and an additional 79 cents per download. A similar pricing scheme is being developed for Europe, a spokeswoman for the Seattle-based digital media firm said. Earlier this month, Rhapsody said subscribers had streamed more than 21 million songs in September. |
It's interesting to see that a lot of companies are starting their own version of an online music download service even though so far, industry-backed services have proved no match for free download services such as Kazaa and Grokster...
This news was, by the way, spotted by GristyMcFisty. What a surprise! 😉
Source: Yahoo! News
