Coca-Cola To Jump Into The Online Music Download Business

by , 9:30 AM EST, December 9th, 2003

Pepsi may have joined forces with Apple to distribute a million songs via Apple's iTMS, but Coca-Cola is taking it a step further, according to an article at the Register. "myCoke Music" is set to debut in January 2004, and will have "over 250,000" songs available to residents of Great Britain for 99p (about US$1.72 as of this writing). The service will be provided by OD2, the same company that Microsoft uses for its UK-based music download service. From The Register:

Sugared water seller Coca-Cola has decided to toss its brand into the online music selling ring, crowding what is already a bazaar-like marketplace.

In January of next year, the myCoke Music site will go live in the U.K. Coke has promised a selection of over 250,000 songs from 8,500 artists at a cost of 99p each. The new service will be run in partnership with music distributor OD2 - Microsoft's European DRM supplier.

You can read the full article at The Register's Web site.

The Mac Observer Spin:

On the one hand, Coca-Cola's music service will probably beat Apple to the UK market, but judging by the list on OD2's site, that has been done quite a few times already.

On the other hand, OD2 distributes DRM-encumbered Windows Media Player files, so myCoke Music files may not be useable on a Mac, assuming the online store is Mac-accessible in the first place. In addition, it is unlikely that the rights allowed will be as generous as those allowed by the iTMS' DRM scheme.

Apple may be beaten to the UK market, but that doesn't mean that there isn't room for a UK iTMS.

The Register