Digital Journal — Watch out, iTunes. Best Buy is coming after you.
Yes, the Best Buy electronics retail megachain is developing a digital music store with SanDisk and software company RealNetworks. Available Oct. 15, the service will use Real’s Rhapsody subscription software and work perfectly with the new line of SanDisk Sansa e200R Rhapsody music players.
Best Buy’s dive into the digital music market shouldn’t surprise any close observer of where this trend is heading. Apple has been the undisputed leader with its iTunes store, but now other tech companies are looking to steal a piece of that market pie. Microsoft, Nokia, Sony Ericsson and Samsung have all announced plans to offer music download services to complement new devices.
iTunes enjoys an 88 per cent share of legal downloads in the U.S., while the iPod is still holdings top position in the MP3 player market. What Best Buy — and SanDisk and RealNetworks, too — are attempting to accomplish is a dethroning that would ripple across the entire tech sector. Obviously, Apple’s adversaries have a tough road ahead, but aggressive competition has to start somewhere.
It’s encouraging to see more digital music services launch in late 2006, making the upcoming year a more competitive time for all players, and thus giving the customer increased choice. iTunes is not for everybody. Perhaps Best Buy’s service will succeed where iTunes has failed, and pull the MP3 player market out of its trend towards monopoly.
