p2p news / p2pnet: With a boatload of money behind it, thanks to Microsoft, RealNetworks is hoping to convince you that being able to rent low-fi mp3s sold by the Big Four Organized Music cartel is a good deal.

As CNET News puts it, “RealNetworks’ core music subscription service is migrating onto the Web on Monday, in a move that includes some of the first fruits of its recent antitrust settlement with Microsoft.”

Or as p2pnet said when the settlement was announced, “Expect to see RealNetworks’ problem-plagued RealPlayer acquire a sparkling new façade in coming months.”

The company is putting its Rhapsody downloans on a web page, “instead of requiring them to download software,” says CNET.

Given the many and various critical security problems Real has had with its player, that’s probably not a bad idea.

Microsoft is paying RealNetworks $761 million as part of anti-trust settlement and to rub salt into the wound, also agreed to, “create a new partnership to innovate and promote consumer choices in digital music and games”.

Thus, “Along with that new version, Microsoft will begin promoting Rhapsody over the next week through its Media Player software and on the MSN Music site,” says CNET. “RealNetworks executives hope the new version, in conjunction with a previous offer allowing people to listen to 25 songs for free, will make it easier for Web surfers to understand what a subscription music service is all about.”

What it’s all about is getting punters to pay far too much for far tool little. And it’s available only in the US. “If you do reside outside the US, you can still get great music programming as part of our SuperPass subscription service,” says he site.

Music subscription services expect people to pay a monthly fee to “borrow” mp3s which disappear as soon as the monthly payments stop, for whatever reason.

Moreover, “Paying subscribers to the service can listen to unlimited amounts of music through the Web-based version,” says CNET.

“However, they will not have the same ability to download songs to their hard drives or MP3 players, or manage the other music on their computers.

Microsoft’s role in promoting Rhapsody, “remains small for now, without the direct links inside the MSN Messenger service that the two companies showed off in October,” adds the story, but, “Those features will likely appear by mid-2006, RealNetworks executives have said.”

Also read:-
CNET News – RealNetworks moves Rhapsody to the Web, December 4, 2005
p2pnet said – Real gets $761M from Microsoft, October 11, 2005
many and various – Critical RealPlayer security hole, September 28, 2005

This entry was posted on Monday, December 5th, 2005 at 1:32 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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