“For years, MTV Networks Inc. sat on the sidelines while Apple Computer Inc., RealNetworks Inc. and others racked up sales of music downloads. Now the cable network group that helped popularize music videos two decades ago is entering the online music fray with URGE, a new service that makes its public beta debut on Wednesday. URGE comes integrated into the newest version of Microsoft Corp.’s Windows Media Player, which users of Microsoft’s Windows will receive in coming weeks as an upgrade. Prior to that, the player upgrade will be available for download at the URGE and Microsoft Web sites,” Alex Veiga reports for The Associated Press. “At launch, URGE will have more than 2 million tracks, which can be purchased individually at 99 cents or as full albums starting at around $9.95. The service also will offer unlimited downloads at a monthly rate of $9.95, or $14.95 for the ability to transfer songs to any of more than 100 compatible portable music players. Initially, URGE will also feature streaming videos, with video downloads becoming available for purchase later this year. URGE will also be the featured music service on Microsoft’s media player, which will continue to have built-in links to several other services.”
“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. And like established rivals RealNetworks’ Rhapsody and Napster Inc., 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,” Veiga reports.
Full article here.
Not only is MTV’s URGE outfit iPod-incompatible, it also excludes Mac OS X users (or those personal computer users with the most discretionary income at their disposal for things like, oh, say, multiple and repeated online music purchases, for one example). Not very smart, MTV. MTV’s entry poses little or no threat to Apple’s inclusive iTunes Music Store which serves Mac, Windows PC, and iPod users, but RealNetworks and Napster executives’ should ow ratchet up their sweating even more, if possible.
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Related articles:
Oppenheimer downgrades RealNetworks based on Microsoft’s ‘URGE’ partnership with MTV – December 15, 2005
MTV-Microsoft URGE music service not targeting iPod, iTunes users; Real CEO PlayedForSure? – December 13, 2005
MTV and Microsoft team up for new digital music service ‘URGE’ – December 13, 2005
considering most kids use ibooks, makes yo wonder if MTV understands its own market segmentation.
Hmm, album stacks, search as you type across all 2+ million songs, 192k download files, Billboard charts, 500+ themed playlists, 130+ CD quality radio stations, and it will be on every PC made going forward.
You’re all a pretty smug bunch. Your take on anything other than iTunes/iPod is that no one should ever try again; Apple “won” and that’s it. Well, the game ain’t over and as a consumer, I’m all for competition.
Renting music doesn’t work. Not letting Mac users in doesn’t help there cause and the incompatability with iPods makes there effort a waste of time,energy and money cause it will fail like the rest.
“DON’T dismiss this out of hand:
“URGE comes integrated into the newest version of Microsoft Corp.’s Windows Media Player, which users of Microsoft’s Windows will receive in coming weeks as an upgrade.
“This is the traditional Windows monopoly challenge, and it is finally here. As more and more Windows lemmings reach for the “default” music store built right into their media player, it will be Apple’s biggest (music) challenge so far. I too hope Apple’s model can withstand due to the popularity of the iPod, its installed base, and the superiority of the Apple software/store, but this type of M$ assault has always won so far, so don’t underestimate it.”
There is a difference this time in that iTunes is free. Netscape et al were shareware or paid applications. Microsoft took over because the MS version was “free.”
iTunes also has the mindware this time. It will take alot of $$ to get “Urge” into the public consciousness.
“For years, MTV Networks Inc. sat on the sidelines while Apple Computer Inc., RealNetworks Inc. and others racked up sales of music downloads.”
Can what Real is doing ever really be decsribed as “racking up” anything?
Rightly or wrongly, Apple has the reputation of a closed system in refusing to license their DRM to anyone. Short term, that’s cool because they have the hippest player. Longer term, I don’t think they will stay on top.
Is MTV even relevant anymore? Seems has has-been and interesting as the Home Shopping Network.
URGE will also be the featured music service on Microsoft’s media player, which will continue to have built-in links to several other services.
Built-in links to crapware writers all over the world, including the biggest one – the one that specializes in very, very small soft droppings.
I agree that embedding it in Windows Media Player could get it some easy recognition. But when the user finds out that the music they “bought” on Urge won’t play on their iPod, they’ll go back to iTMS or pirating or ripping from their CD collection, or whatever means they used before.
Anyone notice the Napster ad at the bottom of the MDN page? Are they still around?…
Its just funny that they are not going to be compatible with IPods, when most of the kids watching MTV are listening to their songs on an IPod right now.
Hey No more competition is good?,
iTunes is at 3+ million songs per recent statement by Apple executives. 3+, I believe, in this strange world of +, is more than 2+.
And why do you consider “Billboard charts and themed playlists” as something to be mentioned? You can find them already at iTunes (playlists as collections because iTunes doesn’t do the don’t pay-lose all your music swindle).
I may be Apple fanboi#1, but I have some objective insight into this.
First, keep in mind that Apple does not have 100% market share for the iPod. And it also doesn’t have 100% of the desktop player market (far from it). What remains (argue whatever percentage), is a piece of pie that can be targeted.
Now when companies like Napster go after this market segment, they’re bound to fail since it’s their core revenue, they have nothing to leverage, and they will eat it when it comes to advertising and promotion…each new subscriber costs them too much to acquire.
MTV is already a successful and established operation (insert comment about them sucking for not playing music here). MTV has the *rights* to a ton of exclusive content. A fan of one of the major artists that they have exclusive content of, might find themselves sitting at their desktop with Windows Media Player just begging to take them to URGE.
Likewise, despite MTV sucking for not playing music anymore, MTV does have a significant core audience of kids. These kids are going to get bombarded with “Get This Now On URGE”.
Unlike Napster, Real or the rest of the retard pack, MTV does not have to reach large economies of scale. The distribution is being handled by Microsoft’s infrastructure. MTV and Microsoft can run this at a loss if they feel it helps their core businesses (sound familiar?).
Finally, keep in mind that MTV had no real choice here. I have some inside information here, MTV was turned down by Apple for licensing (no surprise there). That means MTV didn’t choose to ignore the Mac or iPod platforms, but rather there was no DRM format that they could use for them. DRM is a requirement for doing business with the major labels (insert some link to a bit player who sells indie music as straight MP3s).
This means, MTV could offer their own content via iTMS *and* also build their own store for nonPods. There’s only upside for them doing both.
They’re bundling this store into the player? That’s a brilliant move, if it works well (always a big “if” where Microsoft is concerned). While this may be “bad” for Apple, it could be absolutely deadly for Napster, Rhapsody, et al. If these outfits have any brains at all, they should get in front of a judge and stop this before they get “Netscaped”.
Jake said:
“This is the traditional Windows monopoly challenge, and it is finally here. As more and more Windows lemmings reach for the “default” music store built right into their media player, it will be Apple’s biggest (music) challenge so far. I too hope Apple’s model can withstand due to the popularity of the iPod, its installed base, and the superiority of the Apple software/store, but this type of M$ assault has always won so far, so don’t underestimate it.”
Jake, I think you’re assuming that people actually *use* Windows Media Player as their jukebox-type software. The fact is, with or without “URGE” (horrible name), WiMP is AWFUL software–clunky, unintuitive, unpleasant. In other words, your basic Microsoft trainwreck. Don’t underestimate iTunes’s penetration into the PC market. Not to mention that iPod compatability is a HUGE factor. PC users want their iPods, too.
The only thing I worry about is that MTV obviously has media outlets to do marketing tie-ins (“Like the song you just heard? Buy it on URGE!”). But this assumes that MTV is still relevant to most music listeners (it isn’t). It also assumes that people will trash their iPods and buy crappy Creative players tomorrow just so their music purchases are MTV-approved. Doesn’t sound too likely to me.
I hope for their sake MTV didn’t invest too heavily in this.
Got the urge, try Loperamide.
No more is good, you don’t know the history of competition…. I do.
I don’t think this will hurt Apple too much. People will always love iPods – they are just the most intuitive, easy to use and coolest music player. And the fact that URGE doesn’t support iPods means that people will choose between URGE music service, or an iPod. I wonder which they will go for.
MTV gave up on music years ago when their viewers gave up on them. No one cares.
Maybe MTV has no choice in excluding iPod and Apple X users…maybe its part of working with Macroshit
Isn’t URGE going to be a BETA service for a while? Seems funny, but I don’t remember iTunes being BETA. When it was launched, it launched. No beta.
Seems typical Microsoft to hide behind the BETA thing for a while, then reannounce the SAME thing in 6 months as a final version…..
Jake has a very interesting point……..It’ll be interesting to see how this “partnership” plays out.
Just an aside – IMHO MTV started a revolution and then systematically destroyed music as we know it today (not all of their own doing). When the budget for the videos for your songs is in the range of what it costs to produce your album as well, something has definitely gone awry. It costs ridiculous amounts of money to produce videos (you ALWAYS have to 1-up the other guy with new effects, techniques, etc..). This puts more pressure on THE ARTIST because they don’t make one cent until all production, promotion, and distribution costs are paid first. When you get “signed” by a label, it’s really just a loan. The label is making an investment with their money in hopes of gaining a return. Music videos are really pre-paid commercials for your album. Music videos have run their course. That’s why MTV etc. hardly even show videos anymore. The labels and bands don’t want to spend the money to make them, and MTV can attract more advertising offering “traditional” programming. In the early days of MTV, it was quite the opposite. The advertisers all wanted spots DURING the video segments. Now the video segements are least attractive to advertisers, hence all the “traditional” programming on MTV. I never watched a ton of MTV, although it was something exciting, new, and became a phenomenom. It pretty much died in the late 80’s and definitely died when they pulled the plug on 120 minutes. MTV from the mid-80’s onward also helped usher in the era of the “disposable” band. While there will always be one-hit wonders, the life span of current bands is less than 15 min of fame. Even if your first album is HUGE, you’re lucky if you get to make a third. If your second album bombs you may get another chance – then your dumped like yesterday’s trash. I’m sure there are a lot of great bands that never saw the light of day because of the “MTV paradigm shift”.
Apple really needs to put the nail in the coffin right about now. MTV died because content is king, and Apple knows this. Forward thinking Apple should try to get more foreign and american content of higher aesthetic quality to keep the ball rolling. Britcoms (Fawlty Towers, the office, Benny Hill), IMAX documentaries, BBC programming, Anime music, anime, Hong Kong action flicks, French action flix (BANLIEUE 13!!!!), UK – French – Italian house music. I really don’t use the radio or tv much since I’ve seen so much fresh media from overseas.
I go to http://www.mandiapple.com/snowblood/index2.htm for movies
and http://www.juno.co.uk/ which lets me preview new music
I’m sure people are tired of the same old crap being forced on them day in and out, and waiting 3 years for a Japanese movie to be remade with half ass american actors so illiterates don’t have to read subtitles is lame. Any remake for that matter,
The Six Million Dollar Man starring Jim Carey ? PHEW!!! You won’t get my money!
I usually get the URGE after my morning jaja for a quick download.