Amazon Readies Entry To Download Market

According to various sources including The Wall Street Journal and DigitalMusicNews.com, "…Amazon has been in active discussions with top labels over a download and subscription offering. The store, which is slated for a fourth quarter entrance, could involve digital music white-label service MusicNet….the Wall Street Journal report (also)follows a job posting on paidcontent.org that was seeking a "Content Acquisition Manager (CAM) for our forthcoming Digital Music Service."

"While the Amazon entrance can be viewed as just another addition to a very crowded field, it could have broader implications for the space. While Apple has helped to introduced digital downloads to the mainstream, Amazon could draw an even broader audience. But a MusicNet-powered backend, which offers WMA-based downloads, could offer a big pitfall. Specifically, the move will make iPod incompatibility a greater issue among consumers, possibly damaging the Amazon entrance. From a higher level, a growing rift between the iTunes Music Store and "everyone else" is likely to continue put a damper on overall digital adoption, at least in the paid space.," according to Digital Music News.