Microsoft: Online song store to get new service

Microsoft is planning to bolster its online song store with a new subscription service later this year in response to Apple's dominance of the digital music business, sources familiar with the plans said.

The software giant launched its song download store, similar to Apple's iTunes store, last September. The Microsoft MSN-branded service did not include a subscription plan at that time, focusing instead on selling individual songs online and through Windows Media Player.

But Microsoft is now working with record labels and copyright holders in preparation for launching its subscription-based component, sources familiar with the talks said. The company held an event earlier this week in New York aimed at providing an update on the project's progress, sources said.

The tentative features of the new service - which is still under development - include advanced community aspects and play-list sharing. But sources say Microsoft is also considering a more direct attack on Apple, seeking rights from copyright holders to give subscribers a new, Microsoft-formatted version of any song they've purchased from the iTunes store so those songs can be played on devices other than an iPod.

Microsoft declined to comment specifically on the service.

Christine Andrews, lead product manager for MSN, said: "We think that the subscription model is very interesting. It is something that we will continue to look into but we don't have anything specific to announce at this time."

The new service could complicate the delicate balance Microsoft has struck in the digital music business, by both providing key technology for companies such as Napster and Yahoo!, while also competing with them.

The fact that Microsoft is willing to complicate that relationship underlines how important the digital media business has become, analysts say. Microsoft and others see the future of home computing focusing increasingly around digital entertainment and consumer electronics, and in that space Apple has taken a substantial lead with its iPod music player and iTunes digital music store.

Indeed, at its developers' conference in San Francisco this week, Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced that the iTunes store had captured an 82 per cent market share in the digital download business in May, despite ongoing competition from Microsoft, RealNetworks, Sony, Yahoo! and others.

Matt Rosoff, an analyst for research firm Directions on Microsoft, said: "The main thing for Microsoft as a company is to get as much use as possible for the PC as a home entertainment device, and one way to do that is ensure that there is a lot of readily available content. Their concern is that none of the partner services will take off or... be effective, keeping Apple as a dominant platform."

John Borland writes for CNET News.com