The Virgin Version
p2pnet.net News:- Virgin Group may not have been the first to open an online movie store, but it says it’s the first traditional music specialty store to move in.
People wanting to download ‘authorised’ music files can already go to any one of a bunch of Big Music-backed online sites.
Sadly, however, this doesn’t mean they’ll be getting a huge selection of music industry ‘product’ at reasonable prices. Au contraire, it’s basically the same old stuff at the same old $.99 per, although with 700,000 files, Virgin’s catalog is larger than most.
Nonetheless, it’s a little like finding a line of grocery stores in the same section of the same mall, all selling the same potatos at the same prices. Only the supplier – who’s laughing all the way to the bank – is making money.
What do customers get out of it?
Same old, same old. But that’s normal.
Anyway, there’s apparently room for one more potato-seller and, “We’re not afraid not to be first movers in this space,” says Zack Zalon, president of Virgin Digital.
Using the Windows Media format, the Virgin version will kick off in the US in August with a European offering probably following by November, says a Reuters/Billboard story here.
“MusicNet will handle back-room functions like fulfillment, database management and most licensing, while Virgin will take care of customer relations and billing,” says the report.
The store initially will offer mainly MusicNet-licensed tracks supplemented by Radio Free Virgin licenses and, “Customers will have the option to purchase a la carte downloads at about 99 cents, or through subscriptions on a tethered basis at $8-$10 per month for Virgin Music Club members,” says the story, adding:
“Both options will be available on the Internet, in the chain’s brick-and-mortar stores, on mobile phones and on other portable devices”
