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Microsoft to Launch Online Music Store
yonnage writes "Microsoft is expected to enter the online song store market this week, which should put the software giant head-to-head with Apple Computer in the music business at last.
The launch of Microsoft's iTunes rival will be timed along with the beta release of Microsoft's new Windows Media Player 10, expected on Thursday, sources say. The store will also be in beta mode, lacking some of the features that will be added later, sources said."
None of these hurdles is trivial, particularly in a business such as selling downloadable music, where actual margins remain only a few pennies per song sold. The real core of Microsoft's goal has little to do with e-commerce and everything to do with selling Windows, analysts said.
No it has nothing to do with selling Windows. It has to do with furthering the MSFT domination in every single technological market that they can slide their way into. The XBox hardware doesn't make them money but they are still getting their name out there and making money via some other channel (additional hardware, monthly Live subscriptions, royalties, whatever).
This is going to be no different. Get the people used to the MSN Music Store. Get them buying songs. Get them buying hardware. Get them used to seeing it in Windows. Make it an integral part of Windows. DRM the BIOS, DRM the OS, and DRM the Music, DRM the hardware/player, RIAA is happy, people get their Music, people are happy, money comes in, Bill is happy.
When the market is comfortable with seeing WMP and MSN media everywhere they are going to LOVE seeing it in their favorite theatre, on their favorite DVD, etc. Then the MPAA is happy and they will happily embrace the format which they are currently rejecting.
What I want to know is when WMP is going to just NOT work when you won't let it phone in what you have been watching/listening to. I've been waiting for that day to come. I wouldn't be surprised if it happened in WMP10-1 or WMP11. It's not like 99% of the people don't know that it is doing it and it's not like they care if it is. Most of these people don't have firewalls and even if they do they happily click to allow it to connect out permanently. Anything to make that annoying little box stop popping up.
Tin foil alert level is currently Orange but may raise when the MSN music store gains a foothold.
Microsoft will immediately become number two, and perhaps number one, if not almost straight away, with a shoddier product, and years earlier than they'd otherwise have been able to had it not been for Apple once again pioneering this market.
but really, if all of the others haven't really made a dent in the iTMS market share, how does MS intend to?.
I guess the same thing was said a while ago by the executives at netscape.
I quit using Napster because I didn't really like the Windows Media Player, or the Microsoft DRM technology. Why would I switch back just because MS has their own music store? The music store marketplace is becoming too saturated now and the only way for anyone to distinguish themselves is with a great hardware accessory - like Apple's iPod.
Apple is well in the lead and I don't see them losing the lead unless MS comes up with something better than just another "hey, me too!" store.
Five Dolla Moddy-Moddy?
There's no way that Microsoft's music store will anything like the cachet that the iTunes Music Store has. Microsoft, as a hip brand name, trails far behind Jenny Craig Mac & Cheese. But then again, if they make their songs playable on every non-iPod device out there, they'll pick up the lion's share of the market in no time. Good luck getting it all to work right, though.
You are in error. No-one is screaming. Thank you for your cooperation.
"The store will also be in beta mode, lacking some of the features that will be added later"
No to be a picky bastard or anyhing, but projects without full features was called alpha state to me, last time I checked, while full featured, still in-test is beta.
\ MS will say that they are at the top of their game, until they are (which in some cases is never). They have the money to make mistakes like no one else. They can have no features, barest functionality, poor implementation, and still create hype and users - all through the marvel of $$$.
The Apple iTunes store doesn't have anything to worry about for a long while, but MS will beat their dead horse until its a threat. Not a big threat. Nobody cool is going to use MS's service.
At the end of the day - that's what it's all about.
Think about it.. how much lower is his bottom line because his R&D costs are that much less?
He's not just following Apple, BTW. Dell's got the Jukebox, Rio was the first portable MP3 player out there IIRC, there are a handful of USB key/MP3 players out there as well. MSFT is just capitalizing on the settling player market, getting in when the cost to develop the technology is the lowest. They'll pick and choose the featureset of the lowest common denominator, undercut all the other devices on the market, then when everybody's migrated to the Microsoft WinTunes (I disagree with an earlier poster's guess at the name), they'll release the Media Player so it can *only* connect with the WinTunes player, and use the profits to fight off another round of anti-trust lawsuits.
Or something like that.
Oracle and PostgreSQL are RDBMSs, database servers, not SQL servers. SQL Server® is the registered trademark of the Micros...*ack*..*choke*
Responsibility is the punishment for compentenc
With all the brainpower here, it's surprising that nobody's asked "why is Microsoft doing this?"
When iTMS came out, MS said explicitly that it wasn't going to get into the music download business. It's partners (or, I suppose, potential victims) already had large investments in online storefronts, and its other partners already sold WMA-enabled devices.
So why did MS decide to get into music?
I think the HP/Apple deal had something to do with it. One of MS' biggest customers went with another vendor (Apple). That must have galled MS. The PC side has device vendors and music stores, but there was no single-vendor solution. The WMA hardware vendors were probably complaining to Mama that MS wasn't helping them on the software side.
And when you look at it, how stable is are the WMA-based music stores? Real? Napster? Wal-Mart? Any of them could flake out at any moment, deciding that the business wasn't good enough. None of them are stable enough for a real long-term partnership.
By providing an MS music store, MS removes one barrier to WMA-based music stores: vendor instability. It supports the WMA-licensees. It opens up licensing opportunities.
Note there's no consumer benefit here, really.
The question is will MS be able to run this afterthought storefront?
iTMS is about the iPod, not Apple. People use iTMS because it's easy and nice to use, and it works with their pod. MS Music is about...hardware vendor support?
It'll be interesting to see how long MS Music lasts, and more interesting to see who the first few licensees will be.
Everything is replacable if you are willing to break open the case and put a third party battery in (voiding the warranty in the process).
However it isn't exactly the same a changing the AA batteries in your remote control is it?
Finkployd
The store will also be in beta mode, lacking some of the features that will be added later, sources said.
Seems to me that lately, Beta no longer means a testing phase. It now means "Hurry and saturate the market with an incomplete product so we can make money now and take business away from competitors!"
What do you mean IE is a bare-bones browser? IE's 4.0 supported XML / CSS at a time when Netscape 4.0 was a baby.
I have used IE 5.0/5.5/6.0 for developing applications from 2000 onwards and i have always the features packed in to IE far, far better than Netscape.
IE supported XHTML/XML/XSL scripting and DOM model before Netscape even knew what they were. Microsoft implemented most standards including CSS stuff like tags which were proposed by W3c.org when no other browser supported them.
IE was lightning ahead of other browsers when it came to implementing new standards.
Before you start generic Microsoft thrashing make sure you know the facts.
I use Firefox now.-:))
"Doing what i can, with what i have." ~ Burt Gummer
He said, "I was surprised, too, but guess what? They actually found 8 other guys like me, too. People who have been in the music side of the music biz for at least 10 years. People running folk radio shows, and jazz magazine editors and such. Real MUSIC people. And they told us to make the online music store of our dreams."
It's people like that who get people like you to sign deals. This really reminds me of that write up on how the big labels use ex-members of indie bands to get new bands to sign contracts. "How bad could they be, they are just like us?".
Just imagine a day when MS has a 100% control over online music and they want to "renegotiate" their contract to "better suit" the "consumer". Any label that hands MS the rights to distribute their music is putting themselves in a position where the network effect will force them to have a lower position when doing business with MS.
Burn Hollywood Burn