Wal-Mart’s music download service launches today with a per-song charge of 88 cents. With 30-second previews and DRM-locked files (including the ability to authorize 2 additional computers and make 10 burns to a CD), it looks a lot like a web-based iTunes Music Store clone—not a bad thing, exactly, but not terribly innovative. What is sub-optimal is the requirement of Windows Media Player 9, leaving Winamp and other Windows media software out in the cold—at least until the inevitable DRM cracks appear.
It’s also worth mentioning that although the trademarked Wal-Mart Music Download slogan is, “Every Song. Every Day,” it’s extremely likely that the catalog will be as sanitized as the in-store music selection.
Still, $.88 cent downloads (that exclusive Hilary Duff track will be hard to resist)! It’s not enough of a price drop to scare Apple yet, but if Wal-Mart decides to do a price rollback in the future, even stoic Apple would have to respond. Could the music download price wars be close at hand?
