Windows Media Player integrates ‘iTunes-like’ MSN Music Club in Europe

“Microsoft Corp. said Thursday it has entered an agreement with Europe’s biggest digital music outfit, OD2, to form the continent’s first major a la carte online download service. The alliance comes a week after the European Union made fresh demands on the world’s largest software company to stop abusing its market dominance to distribute software, singling out the popular Windows Media Player that allows computer users to play songs and view films,” reports Reuters.

Reuters reports, “Music fans with Microsoft’s Windows Media Player version 9 can now purchase individual music tracks for 0.99, or $1.12 or 75 pence, from OD2’s library of more than 200,000 songs, representing a 25-percent discount from most other European subscription services, the companies said. The move marks the first time European consumers can purchase song downloads off the Internet for under one euro and without requiring a monthly subscription, bringing the fee in line with the popular Apple Computer iTunes service, which is not yet available in Europe.” Full article here.

“A new pay-by-the-song music service is launching in Western Europe, putting an iTunes-like digital download store inside Microsoft’s Windows Media Player. The Web store will offer pay-per-song purchasing, with Microsoft replicating Apple’s successful iTunes model,” reports John Borland for CNET News.com. Branded variously as the MSN Music Club and Tiscali Music Club, the service is actually run by online music company OD2, rather than by Microsoft itself. As with Apple Computer’s iTunes, the stores will be accessible inside the music-playing software itself. In this case, each may be accessed by a tab in the Windows Media Player premium services section.” Full article here.