Will the ‘new Rhapsody’ pose a threat to iTunes?
Posted by Dennis Sellers 
Jul 1, 2008 at 7:13am
I’ve long said there was little interest in subscription music services, and the folks at Rhapsody apparently agree with the launch of the “Music Without Limits” initiative. Since the initiative is iPod-compatible, I think it will offer some decent competition for iTunes (though I don’t think there’s a chance it will overtake the Apple online store).
With Music Without Limits, music from all major labels will be available in the DRM-free and interoperable MP3 format. The folks at Rhapsody have said that their previous subscription-based service and lack of iPod compatibility were deal busters. Now the company is “embracing” the iPod. Another big draw: listeners will be able to preview an entire song before they purchase it.
The Rhapsody music will be priced roughly the same as competitors at $.99 a song and $9.99 for most albums. As part of a push to attract the attention of iTunes users, the company is giving away $10 credits—enough to buy an album—to the first 100,000 people who sign up for an account.
The big marketing push, and partnerships with companies such as MTV and iLike, will most likely get the Music Without Limits initiative off to a good start. However, from what I’ve seen, it’s still not as slick, inviting and user-friendly as the iTunes Store—and it certainly doesn’t have the momentum and buzz that Apple has. iTunes was the number one music retailer, according to an April NPD study released earlier this spring, surpassing even Wal-Mart and capturing 19 percent of music sales in the U.S.
Also, as noted by the Detroit Free Press, there are the millions of iPhone users. Apple expects 10 million to 12 million iPhone to be sold by year’s end, with a big surge coming July 11 when the iPhone 2.0 is released. Those phones have integrated links to iTunes and their users aren’t going to Rhapsody.
But Rhapsody is certainly coming out of the gate with both guns blazing. Whether the new service is a big hit or just a medium success, it offers more choice for iPod users. That may not be good news for Apple, but more choice for music lovers is a good thing.
Article Information
Comment on this Article Print this Article Email this Article Digg This
Contributor
Dennis Sellers
Dennis has been a newspaper editor/reporter (seven years) and teacher (seven years). He has over 4,000 magazine, newspaper and online articles to his credit. He has also covered the Mac and tech industries for over a decade for such online publications as MacCentral, MacMinute and now MacsimumNews.
