Pay-Per-Song Services Launched

Pay-per-song music downloads in the Windows Media Format are now available from Microsoft partners BuyMusic.com and OD2. The agreements suggest that Microsoft will continue to rely on partners for hosted services outside its core areas of expertise and will not follow Apple Computer’s lead by building its own digital music service. However, users will have different rights for each song, which could hamper adoption.

Adding Pay-Per-Song

The pay-per-song model was popularized by Apple’s iTunes Music Store, which launched in Apr. 2003 for Macintosh users (a Windows version is expected by 2004). The Music Store has been one of the most successful commercial online music services launched, with more than 5 million songs downloaded in its first two months. The number is particularly impressive given that Macintoshes constitute less than 5% of the overall personal computer market, although it pales in comparison with the 10 billion songs downloaded from illegal file-sharing networks every two months (according to Knowledge@Wharton estimates).