Microsoft Throws Down the Gauntlet: MSN Music Debuts


Microsoft has launched a beta of its iTunes Music Store rival, MSN Music, Ananova.com reports. MS's new on-line store will offer 99-cent tracks, matching Apple's iTMS.

MSN Music is accessible directly from a browser. To accompany to Music release, MS also released its revamped Windows Media Player (WMP) software.

"We believe we've built a better service than the Apple service," said Yusuf Mehdi, MSN vice president, who is quoted in the article.

MSN Music will launch with 100,000 songs - far fewer than its iTMS and Napster rivals - but MS said that 1 million songs will be available in the near future.

The store will also offer WMA at a higher bitrate, which MS says will sound better than Apple's AAC-encoded tracks. The WMA tracks are also expected to incorporate Janus, Microsoft's Digital Rights Management software.

However, Redmond's aim is not to make a profit from selling songs, but to draw customers to its MSN portal in order to sell advertising.

A European release of MSN Music is also expected from the middle of this month.

Analysis: Surprisingly uncompetitive in the price department. You'd think MS would take a loss, at least at the outset, in order to create some buzz. Right now, it's just another on-line music store, although the Beatles are rumored to have been signed up - a first (why you would want to buy the Beatles in .wma if you don't already own the CDs is beyond us though. How much of a fan are you?).

It will succeed, by iteration, but they won't play on the iPod, which hampers its development. But if .wma moves into the ascendancy, Apple might think seriously of putting it on the iPod. Like USB 2.0, when people and manufacturers vote with their feet, you've got to go with the industry standard. Sometimes.