OD2 today launched its online jukebox where customers can get a song for only one penny. OD2 jukebox uses Microsoft's Windows Media Player 9 software. This software from OD2 offers a little over 350,000 songs from over 12,000 artists. It's no surprise why OD2 launched its jukebox a day before European launch of iTunes.
A day ahead of the European launch of Apple's iTunes, Bristol, UK-based OD2 -- Europe's largest music-download company -- has launched an online jukebox that costs just one penny per song. SonicSelector, a plug-in to Microsoft's Windows Media Player 9 software, allows users to listen to songs from a library of over 350,000 tracks from 12,000 artists. It is available from music retail Web sites operated by such companies as MSN, MTV, Packard Bell and Tiscali in the UK, France, Germany and Italy.
The competition in the European music-downloading market is heating up, with Roxio's Napster launching an online jukebox in the UK last month and Sony planning to enter the market within the next few weeks. Napster has just signed up NTL, one of the UK's largest cable TV and Internet service providers, to carry its download service.
"Pay-As-You-Go' Model
OD2's new service is based entirely on pay-per-use pricing; there is no subscription fee. SonicSelector users pay one UK penny to stream each track that they have selected, and for 75 UK pence (US$1.35) per track, can download songs to aPC or portable music player. The service offers downloads to 70 different music players that support the Windows Media Audio format, OD2 claims. Napster's online jukebox offers a similar streaming service, but only to customers who pay a 9.95 pound (US$17.90) monthly subscription. Subscribers are allowed to stream an unlimited number of songs.
News source: NewsFactor
