NEWS If rumour and speculation are to be believed, Microsoft's iTunes-alike music download service will be debuting in the coming days. And if a different set of rumours is to be believed, Redmond approached Apple for iPod compatibility and was snubbed.
It is thought that with the latest update to Windows Media Player coming soon, Gates and chums will take the opportunity to push users in the direction of its very own song shop.
Original estimates were that the download service would debut in the middle of August. Microsoft has confirmed the announcement is expected this year but won't reveal a date. But don't expect a big bang launch: Microsoft is more likely to gently ease the music merchant into existence via the MSN portal.
With over 300 million hits a month to MSN on top of the Media Player users, Microsoft has got a healthy user base to wean onto its song shop. However, according to a report in music mag Rolling Stone, Microsoft wanted even more.
With Apple's iPod holding around 50 per cent of the music player market, the report quotes a source close to the matter as saying that Microsoft had made several attempts to get Apple to agree to iPod compatibility for the store but Apple refused. Microsoft declined to comment.
It's not a surprising move for Cupertino. Apple has preserved an isolationist stance towards its iPod music player, refusing to let Real's song shop license the technology. Real 'cracked' the software and launched a campaign encouraging Apple to open up its music licensing.
Comments
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1. Barry Clarke
Good move for Apple.
From what I have heard the Microsoft Music Store is an attempt to copy the Apple iTunes Music Store in the same way that it has replicated the Google interface in its new search service.
Microsoft is using its dominant position in the operating system market to exploit and control all new technology based markets. It is a real preditor. The only opposition remaining is here in Europe. Unfortunately the issues are not widely understood.
I am pleased to see that the EU is investigating Microsoft's holding in ContentGuard Inc - a totally unnecessary play for any software company except those such as Microsoft with a dominant position to extend into content.
I wish Apple well with its fantastically well integrated service and I trust that we shall see Fairplay incorporated in DRM schema and that a number of rights management solutions are supported downstream - not just that of Microsoft.
2. Martin Hill
MS doesn't want to make the MS music store compatible with the iPod - they want the iPod compatible with Windows Media.
MS wants to extend their Windows Media format to the iPod to try and attack the 70% marketshare that MPEG-4 audio (AAC) now has in the legal music landscape. Apple was right to refuse.
With the open standard of MPEG-4 video now starting to dominate mobile phones, DVDs, satellite & digital TV & now streaming video as well at the expense of the proprietary Windows media format, MS is smarting from being unable to extend its monopoly of so many other formats into the brave new world of audio and video.
With the news that Apple is licensing Fairplay to Macrovision and the like to make copy-protected audio CDs compatible with the iPod, we'll now start to see DRM enabled MPEG-4 making a bigger and bigger splash around the world.
It is true that Apple hasn't been licensing Fairplay to everyone (notably Real) as a business decision at this point as they establish their dominant position with the iPod-iTunes 1-2 knock-out punch, but I expect them to start more widely licensing Fairplay soon as the market matures. It will be interesting to see how Fairplay fits into the picture if MPEG-21 or ODRL ever actually amount to anything.
-Mart