10/05/2006, 11:15am, EDT

Thursday, October 5th

Best Buy, Real, SanDisk take on Apple

Retail giant Best Buy today announced that it will join forces with RealNetworks and SanDisk to launch a new online music store, increasing competition with Apple and threatening Microsoft's recent move into the digital music market. The new music store will take advantage of Sansa music players, which offer support for Real's Rhapsody DNA subscription method to automatically download recommended music as a listener's music habits develop over time. Best Buy, RealNetworks, and SanDisk are hoping that the integration of a retail store, an online store, and a music player will mimic Apple, according to Electronista. Subscriptions will cost $15 per month, and the new online music service will launch alongside the players on October 15th.

Best Buy also said it will offer incentives to shoppers who purchase the compatible Sansa e200R-series players from its retail outlets: new owners will receive a free two-month subscription to the Best Buy online store, allowing them to download an unlimited number of songs during that time.

"The customer expects everything to work together," said Jennifer Schaidler, vice president of music for Best Buy.

Filed under: industry
Other story tags: digital music/video

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Albert

Force feeding of 'music'

10/05, 11:29am, EDT

so in this way you can be re-programed by the music industry.

who cares what you want??

conform or be cast out.

why would I pay for a service that dictates what I should listen to??

'RR DNA' is monopolistic music industry propaganda anyway...we will control your mind by music...

'Orwellian' RR DNA...

I think most people have the ability to choose thier own music thankyou, duh, i think we can handle it...

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ibugv4

My music

10/05, 11:32am, EDT

Is at best a decade old now. The most recently release is from 2003. I don't like the new crap, I like my old trite crap. This wouldn't work for me, but it works for the 80% of programmed by their peers teens out there who are already relying on apple and won't easily switch over to Best Buy esp since many of them probably have horror stories with support/returns of the PC products there.

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Horsepoo!!!

...

10/05, 11:45am, EDT

...and may the best man win. ;)

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Rezzz

well..

10/05, 12:24pm, EDT

they do have a rather large distribution channel for retail sales. if the salespeople are forced to push the garbage player and service, it could erode ipod sales a bit. not everyone is comfortable making decisions like this on their own (read: old timers).

my suspicion is that the salesforce will not push an inferior product without incentives of their own. even then, there are question marks.

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notehead

automatic?!

10/05, 2:14pm, EDT

It automatically downloads recommended music? OMG, that is absolutely repulsive. In an effort to distinguish themselves, Real has come up with something that is downright creepy. I assume, though, that the user has the option of turning this feature off, which will leave them will just another sub-par iTMS clone.

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boris_cleto

Nothing to see

10/05, 3:46pm, EDT

Blah, blah, blah, subscriptions, exploding music. Nothing to see here, move along.

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