After a year of tests to appease major record labels, P2P service iMesh is set to reopen as the first unregulated P2P network to convert into a paid music service. Now, however, iMesh must win over the 5 million customers that have grown used to free music.
iMesh will be the first of many "record label approved" P2P services to go live this year. The $6.95 a month service is similar in some ways to Yahoo and Napster"s plans, but analysts agree that iMesh will have trouble in a market full of legitimate services such as iTunes and Rhapsody will be difficult.
Initially, the $6.95 a month service will not allow you to transfer downloading songs to an iPod or other such devices, but iMesh co-founder Talmon Marco says that future versions will allow transfer to some Windows compatible devices.