BestBuy推网上数码音乐服务
作者： Reuters
责任编辑： 阚智
来源： 《电脑商情报》
时间： 2006-10-06 12:27
Best Buy Co. Inc. aims to take digital music to a wider audience by introducing a music player and subscription service with partners SanDisk Corp. and RealNetworks Inc..
Best Buy, the top U.S. consumer electronics retail chain, is hoping to use the broad reach of its stores to compete with Apple Computer Inc.'s iPod music player and iTunes digital download store.
The company said it would use Real's Rhapsody subscription service, hand-in-hand with a new line of SanDisk Sansa digital music players, much in the way that iPods work with iTunes.
"The customer expects everything to work together," said Jennifer Schaidler, vice president of music for Best Buy.
The service and players will both be available starting Oct. 15 and will be heavily supported in its more than 840 nationwide stores.
News of the partnership pushed Real Networks shares up more than 4 percent on Thursday as investors believed the Best Buy service would bring its brand to new consumers who have not been lured by the iPod.
"A third of the market doesn't buy iPods and want to be different - that market will be a natural for us," Rob Glaser, chief executive of Real Networks, told Reuters.
Glaser said his company anticipates similar partnerships with other device makers in the future, but would not elaborate.
ITunes commands an 88 percent share of legal downloads in the United States while the iPod dominates digital music player sales with more than 60 percent of the market.
SanDisk is a distant number two in music players, but has introduced a series of lower-priced models to reach a new consumer base.
Leading technology and media companies are also vying to make a dent in Apple's lead. In the last two months, Microsoft Corp. (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research), Nokia (NOK.N: Quote, Profile, Research), Sony Ericsson, and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (005930.KS: Quote, Profile, Research) have all announced plans for music download services combined with new devices.
Microsoft is making the highest profile push with its Zune brand, which is launching ahead of the U.S. holiday season.
Best Buy said it will throw its promotional weight behind the new service, offering buyers of the Sansa a free two-month subscription with up to 30 hours of preloaded music already on the player.
As part of the promotion customers are also allowed unlimited access to millions of songs during the period.
The subscription download service is normally priced at $14.99 a month and users can also buy individual downloads at 99 cents a song. Apple's iTunes also sells songs at 99 cents each but does not have a monthly subscription.
The Sansa player is priced at $139.99 for a 2-gigabyte model, which holds roughly 500 songs, compared with $149 for Apple's 2-gigabyte iPod Nano. The Sansa 8-gigabyte model is priced at $249.99, comparable to the 8-gigabyte iPod Nano.
Nasdaq shares in Real Network closed up 4.49 percent or 49 cents to $11.40. SanDisk fell 80 cents to $55.58 while Best Buy closed 25 cents higher at $56.85 on the Big Board.
Best Buy, the top U.S. consumer electronics retail chain, is hoping to use the broad reach of its stores to compete with Apple Computer Inc.'s iPod music player and iTunes digital download store.
The company said it would use Real's Rhapsody subscription service, hand-in-hand with a new line of SanDisk Sansa digital music players, much in the way that iPods work with iTunes.
"The customer expects everything to work together," said Jennifer Schaidler, vice president of music for Best Buy.
The service and players will both be available starting Oct. 15 and will be heavily supported in its more than 840 nationwide stores.
News of the partnership pushed Real Networks shares up more than 4 percent on Thursday as investors believed the Best Buy service would bring its brand to new consumers who have not been lured by the iPod.
"A third of the market doesn't buy iPods and want to be different - that market will be a natural for us," Rob Glaser, chief executive of Real Networks, told Reuters.
Glaser said his company anticipates similar partnerships with other device makers in the future, but would not elaborate.
ITunes commands an 88 percent share of legal downloads in the United States while the iPod dominates digital music player sales with more than 60 percent of the market.
SanDisk is a distant number two in music players, but has introduced a series of lower-priced models to reach a new consumer base.
Leading technology and media companies are also vying to make a dent in Apple's lead. In the last two months, Microsoft Corp. (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research), Nokia (NOK.N: Quote, Profile, Research), Sony Ericsson, and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (005930.KS: Quote, Profile, Research) have all announced plans for music download services combined with new devices.
Microsoft is making the highest profile push with its Zune brand, which is launching ahead of the U.S. holiday season.
Best Buy said it will throw its promotional weight behind the new service, offering buyers of the Sansa a free two-month subscription with up to 30 hours of preloaded music already on the player.
As part of the promotion customers are also allowed unlimited access to millions of songs during the period.
The subscription download service is normally priced at $14.99 a month and users can also buy individual downloads at 99 cents a song. Apple's iTunes also sells songs at 99 cents each but does not have a monthly subscription.
The Sansa player is priced at $139.99 for a 2-gigabyte model, which holds roughly 500 songs, compared with $149 for Apple's 2-gigabyte iPod Nano. The Sansa 8-gigabyte model is priced at $249.99, comparable to the 8-gigabyte iPod Nano.
Nasdaq shares in Real Network closed up 4.49 percent or 49 cents to $11.40. SanDisk fell 80 cents to $55.58 while Best Buy closed 25 cents higher at $56.85 on the Big Board.
