The US cable network group that helped popularise music videos two decades ago is entering the online music fray with URGE, a service that makes its public beta debut tomorrow.. It comes integrated into the latest version of Microsoft’s Windows Media Player, which Windows users will soon receive as an upgrade. This “feature” will probably bring MTV many customers without investing into some bigger promotion or advertising. Before then,the player upgrade will be available for download at the URGE and Microsoft websites. At launch, URGE will have more than two million tracks, which can be bought individually for US99c ($1.29) or as full albums starting at about $US9.95. The service will offer unlimited downloads at a monthly rate of $US9.95, or $US14.95 for the ability to transfer songs to any of more than 100 compatible portable music players.

Still, URGE enters an online music market struggling to compete with online piracy and the dominance of Apple’s iTunes Music Store and its market-leading iPod digital music player. URGE is not compatible with Apple’s Macintosh computers or its market-leading iPod digital music player. That incompatibility, combined with the availability of music on internet file-sharing networks, has made subscription music plans a tough sell. The future will tell us if it was a good idea or not, but it will be profitable for MTV in any case probably…

Source: Australian IT 

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