Published:
16-Jun-08
Austria Telekom has announced that it will finalise the shutdown of its music download store on 15 July. Launched in 2003, the service offered Windows Media DRM-wrapped music downloads. Currently no new downloads are permitted, but returning customers can re-download purchased songs until the close date. The company cited low usage as the principal reason for shuttering the service.
Our take...
As Screen Digest has previously asserted, paid online music market is hardware driven. As in most Western countries, Austrian portable music player (PMP) market is dominated by Apple's iPod: Screen Digest estimates it had a 32% market share in year end 2007, set to almost double in the next five years. Apple's market dominance not only gives a boost to the iTunes music store but also obstructs the take-up of services offering music in formats incompatible with iPod. Stand-alone download services can survive as niche propositions, but only if they offer music in mp3 format, which is compatible with most PMPs and music-capable mobile phones.
Austria,
