Echo, big music stores shelve online music plans
updated 07:35 am EDT, Mon June 14, 2004
Echo shelves online music
Ahead of expected music-industry announcements by Napster and Apple this week, CNET reports that a group of big name retailers have . "Echo, a joint venture launched with a splash of publicity in early 2003, was designed to give the big brick-and-mortar retailers such as Best Buy and Virgin Megastores an on-line foothold that would help them beat back file-swapping services and digital stores. But mounting development costs, a glut of rivals offering bargain-rate services, and smaller-than-hoped-for sales across the on-line-music spectrum, even at Apple's successful store, have led the big retailers to pull funding for the project...The lesson they drew was that the market was growing, but it was small and would show little profit potential, at least for the near future."
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Joined: Apr 2004
Not necessarily...
In Canada, Best Buy (and subsidiary Future Shop), have teamed up with Canadian online music supplier PureTracks, and are promoting PureTracks accounts in their weekly circulars and on their sites.
Future Shop has even re-branded the PureTracks service as "Bonfire".
Windows only, but they say they're working on Mac support.