As if there weren’t enough third-tier iTunes competitors out there, Italian social networking startup Dada (half owned by Sony Music) is now offering the entire Universal catalog, in addition to the Sony catalog, at two-thirds the price of iTunes — that is, $10 for 15 tracks. Further, the company offers over-the-air downloads of DRM-free tracks available both as music tracks and as ringtones. The downside? That $10 is a monthly subscription fee, which gives you a “budget” of songs—and it doesn’t roll over to the following month, so if you don’t buy enough, you’re potentially losing money.
Did Universal forget that its previous attempt at a music store failed miserably? Let’s not forget to mention that Dell, Nokia (which isn’t doing so good these days), MySpace, Amazon and everyone else had tried this strategy before. Have any of them gotten anywhere close to where iTunes is?
What part of “number one music retailer” doesn’t it understand?
*sighs*
[via TG Daily]
Competition is a good thing in the long run. iTunes has earned its number one spot, but I think with competition it will being to feel it chipped away and eventually make changes. Personally I haven't purchased from iTunes, but instead from Amazon due to the DRM limitations at iTunes. Once they lift that, I'd be happy to part with more of my money to Apple.
The price difference of .33 isn't enough to make me rush to the new service, I'd rather pay a few more cents and have a stable company that doesn't shut down and go belly up on an annual basis. The Amazon setup is a PITA, but the DRM trumps that issue.