Jazz Odyssey

According to an article in today’s Wall Street Journal:

Amazon, the world’s No. 1 online retailer, is in advanced talks with the four global music companies about a digital-music service with a range of features designed to set it apart. Among them: Amazon-branded portable music players, designed and built for the retailer, and a subscription service that would deeply discount and preload those devices with songs, not unlike mobile phones that are included with subscription plans as part of the deal.

Taking a bite out of the Apple is a formidable task…aside from pricing and the introduction of branded hardware, what else will Amazon offer to its enormous base of over 55 million customers? Will the planned pre-loading of music on this Amazon branded hardware (based on a customer’s CD buying history) appeal to the less technically minded who have been hesitant to embrace digital music? Can Amazon provide a seamless and easy-to-use digital music experience that will rival iTunes? And the big question….will the ability to bundle packages that include digital AND physical content become the secret weapon that will not only make up for Amazon’s late entry into the space, but appeal to enough consumers to become a credible threat to iTunes marketshare?

Time will tell, but in the big picture this is good news for content owners….a strong competitor to iTunes will not only keep Apple on their toes, but the opportunities to market digital music through Amazon can only mean wider exposure for established and upcoming artists across a wide range of demographics.