Following last week’s news that social networking site MySpace is to start selling music downloads, this week brings news of a number of exciting developments in the legal downloads market.
Market leaders Apple are holding a press conference this evening, where they are expected to launch new iPods (and possibly an iPod/mobile phone hybrid) and introduce full length film downloads to their market-leading iTunes Music Store.
>> Coverage of Apple’s Showtime Press Conference
>> iTunes Music Store
Meanwhile Music Download and Subscription service Napster have announced that new subscribers signing up to their £14.95-a-month Napster To Go service (for at least three months) will get a free MP3 player which is fully compatible with Napster’s unlimited downloads service. Full details will be available from Thursday on Napster’s UK site:
>> Napster
Today also sees the European launch of eMusic – billed as “the world’s largest retailer of independent music”. The service focuses on artists signed to independent labels and uniquely amoung the legal download services, all downloads are in MP3 format which will work on ANY MP3 player.
iTunes downloads won’t play on any portable devices except iPods and downloads from Napster and other Windows-based services won’t play on iPods.
There are a range of price plans available for eMusic, all of which work out considerably cheaper on a per-track basis than rival services. Artists available include Basement Jaxx, Paul Weller, Johnny Cash, Bob Marley, Miles Davis, Bjork, The Fall and thousands of others.
>> eMusic
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