Cyxeris
Joined: Oct 30, 2003 Posts: 1125 Location: Louisville, KY
|
Posted: Tue Dec 02, 2003 8:00 pm Post subject:
H-P to Introduce Internet Music Store Next Year |
|
|
H-P to Introduce Internet Music Store Next Year
Tue Dec 2, 6:35 PM ET
By Nick Wingfield, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal
SAN FRANCISCO -- Hewlett-Packard Co. plans to introduce an Internet music store and portable music player next year, joining a hot new field increasingly crowded by everyone from computer to software to media companies.
H-P, of Palo Alto, Calif., plans to launch a Web site that sells song downloads to consumers sometime in the first quarter, most likely through a partnership with an existing online distributor of music. H-P declined to provide further details, but people familiar with the matter say the company has held discussions about a possible partnership with Anderson News Co.'s Liquid Digital Media and other companies that have already licensed songs for sale from the music companies.
H-P will also expand its growing lineup of consumer electronics gadgets with a portable music player that will compete with devices like Apple Computer Inc. iPod.
The plans, disclosed by an H-P executive in an interview with Reuters, were later confirmed by a company spokesman.
H-P's plans represent a gamble that makers of computers and electronics gear are well-positioned to sell songs as more listeners turn to the Internet as their source of music. Within the computer industry, Apple has gained the biggest audience with its iTunes Music Store, a site that has sold more than 17 million songs for 99 cents each since it was introduced in April. Apple has also sold more than 1.4 million iPods, a sleek music player that starts at $299.
Computer giant Dell Inc. recently got into the market with a music store, operated with Musicmatch Inc., and a line of music players that start at $199. Other companies plan to join the fray soon: software maker Microsoft Corp. says it will begin selling music sometime next year; Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is expected to begin testing a service this year; Japanese electronics giant Sony Corp. and Viacom Inc.'s MTV have also said they will enter the market.
Meanwhile, a handful of services, including RealNetworks Inc.'s Rhapsody, MusicNet, and Roxio Inc.'s Napster, are either offering music themselves or through third parties like Internet service providers or retailers.
The companies are all seeking to capitalize on the steady shift to digital delivery of music, a phenomenon that took off with the advent of Kazaa and other free file-sharing programs that enabled widespread music piracy. Profits among the legitimate music download sites remain elusive though: Apple, for one, says it make most of its money in the business by selling iPods.
In its most recent quarter, Apple had $121 million in revenue from the sale of 336,000 iPods, though it didn't disclose profits. Yet analysts and competitors say it may be difficult for makers of portable music players, such as Apple and H-P, to profit from those devices as competition in the market increases.
-By Nick Wingfield, The Wall Street Journal _________________ ∆ Cyx ∆
"Yeah right, who's the only one here who knows secret illegal ninja moves from the government?"
-Napoleon Dynamite |
|
Cyxeris
Joined: Oct 30, 2003 Posts: 1125 Location: Louisville, KY
|
Posted: Tue Dec 02, 2003 8:07 pm Post subject:
|
|
|
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Hewlett-Packard Co., one of several computer companies pushing into the consumer electronics market, plans to launch an HP-branded online music store in the first quarter, most likely at a January trade show, an HP executive said on Tuesday.
The music service will be run in conjunction with an existing service like Musicmatch.com and compete with music stores from Apple Computer Inc. and Dell Inc., HPShopping.com chief executive officer Peter Appl said in an interview.
Following the planned launch of the service at the Consumer Electronics Show, HP expects to unveil a digital music player, Appl said. Appl said the company had not yet decided the exact design of the product, adding that HP wants to be sure to set its digital music player apart from competitors.
HP, which is the second largest personal computer maker, behind Dell, is one of several computers makers including Dell and Gateway that aim to sell more consumer electronics products as sales of PCs have matured.
HP also plans to introduce a large screen, LCD flat panel television at the consumer electronics show, Appl said.
"That will be a key component in the digital home," Appl said. _________________ ∆ Cyx ∆
"Yeah right, who's the only one here who knows secret illegal ninja moves from the government?"
-Napoleon Dynamite |
|