Microsoft Officially Launches MSN Music; Mac Users Still Not Invited

by , 4:30 PM EDT, October 12th, 2004

Microsoft officially launched the MSN Music Store today, marking the company's entry into the online music download business. The company announced the service in September of this year in a public beta program, and today's launch incorporates several new features into the service. It does not, however, include support for Macs.

Microsoft is also expanding the reach of its store by adding new countries to its service. Through a partnership with Loudeye's OD2 service, a UK firm, Microsoft is expanding its music store to Austria, the Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland. Services in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden are "coming soon," and will be serviced by CDON.

Microsoft is also touting partnerships with OD2 in Australia, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom as a further extension of its reach, as well as a partnership with Digital Prism in Korea and iMusica in Brazil. This makes for a total of 17 countries the MSN Music store is available, though unlike Apple's iTunes, those other markets are closer to rebranding efforts than true extensions of the Microsoft service.

Apple's iTunes is currently available in the UK, Germany, France, and the US, with expansion in Europe expected before the end of the year. Apple owns and operates the services in each of its markets.

"MSN Music is moving to the center of a worldwide stage and will make it easier for music fans in 17 countries around the world to discover and download music legally online," said Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft corporate vice president for MSN in a press release. "MSN Music's vast catalog, the familiarity of MSN, and the service's broad compatibility with more than 70 devices will open the door to online music for millions of people worldwide."

Microsoft has introduces a number of new features into the service, including:

* Ring tones are scheduled to be fully integrated into MSN Music by the end of October 2004.

You can find more information on the service at Microsoft's MSN Web site.