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Real plans European music store launch within a year
updated 06:05 am EDT, Thu April 8, 2004
Real\'s music store Europe
Real Networks plans to launch its , CEO Rob Glaser said in an interview with the Financial Times Deutschland. Glaser also revealed that in the wake of the European Commission's ruling ordering Microsoft to allow PC makers to install competing media software on their systems, Real has been in talks with Dell and HP to better position its products in the market. HP earlier this year struck a partnership with Apple that will see the PC giant selling rebranded iPods and installing iTunes on all of its new computers. Roxio has said it will launch its Napster service in Europe this summer; Apple also plans to launch a European iTunes Music Store later this year.
who wins the race
04/08, 08:47am reply
Whoever gets to Europe first will be the winner there. Music downloading services are similar enough, and lacking in Europe, that the first one to make its debut there will pretty much be the standard, just as the iTMS was in the U.S. Here's hoping Apple wins the race. :)
gwarana
Registered User
Joined: Apr 2004
iTMS will dominate
04/08, 10:30am reply
iTMS will dominate even if it doesn't arrive first. What's the most popular player in Europe? iPod. What is the only legal download service that works with it? iTMS. People who have iPod's will be reluctant to use services that aren't compatible with the most popular music device. People who don't have iPod's will be reluctant to use services that are harder to use than iTMS, have strange or harsh DRM and have less music to select from.
There's a reason iTMS is a 10ton gorilla in the US and the other services are little fleas and it isn't simply because Apple was first (because on the PC they weren't).
beeble
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Mar 2004
re: iTMS will dominate
04/08, 11:20am reply
It will not dominate anything if the greedy record labels succeed in making download music more expensive than buying the actual CD in a store. They are already working on doing so.
koolkid1976
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: May 2003
I'll bite...
04/08, 11:31am reply
... why not us lowly Canadians.
Someone said they bought from the Wal-Mart store online in Canada ... maybe I'll have to check it out. Anybody got a good WMP to AAC converter?
trevc
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Mar 2000