By Ben King, 21 January 2002 14:56
NEWS AOL has launched a music swapping service based on its instant messenger software in a bid to tap the gigantic market developed by the likes of Napster. AOL is already a backer of music download site MusicNet, but such services have struggled to match the popularity or the range of material of Napster and its successors. The company has no firm launch date in mind for the service, which is expected to be made available to Pressplay, a rival service to MusicNet. The service has been developed in conjunction with a number of online fan clubs and internet radio stations. The move is an interesting development for AOL's instant messenger service, which has over 100 million users but struggles to generate any money as there is no fee to access the service. AOL is facing a battle for instant messaging supremacy with Microsoft, whose own IM software is one plank of its .Net strategy. MSN today announced a deal with On Demand Distribution, the internet music distribution company, to set up a music distribution service for MSN's UK portal.
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