Never heard of them. Probably never will again either.

Certainly can't blame them - Apple won't license their DRM. Microsoft is the only one who is willing to allow others to sell music online. Apple needs to wise up soon before they loose the market.

The big deal of the announcement is that they will discontinue to SELL iPods at all. That may set a precedent for others and that would be bad for Apple.

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HMV said it would dump some US$19.1 million into the project.

HMV is huge in England, as is Virgin - music chains are big there and good too, not to be confused with Sam Goody, etc. Apple needs to continue to expand their base of allies here - HP and Pepsi are good, but a deal with Amazon would be better.

SJ has to be careful in his international dealings. He is a rock-star in States but he is not so cool in Europe, Middle-East and Asia.

IMHO: Apple should not ignore the subscription market. This is a viable market. The current value proposition and delivery mechanism are not so ideal. If Apple can come up with a palatable model, many guys would subscribe. Apple should complement the ala carte music download service with a music subscription/satellite radio service.

Btw, does HMV anything to do with AIDS?

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Bookman wrote:
... HP and Pepsi ...

HMV have previously tried to get a music download service working with OD 2, but it failed.

Now they're trying Microsoft and sinking millions into something that nobody apart from Apple has made any money from.

Perhaps when they try a third time, they'll make a sensible choice.

For those who haven't heard of them, HMV stands for His Master's Voice which is the slogan that was used with the painting of a dog ("Nipper") listening to the horn of a gramophone (originally painted with a cylinder phonograph, then modified to a disc machine) - in the US the same image was used by RCA Victor, I think. They have a big chain of big record shops sited in towns where you can find smaller better shops.