The playing field is about to get more crowded. Today, MTV and Microsoft announced the upcoming launch of their new music service URGE (and it's pretty clear who their target market is with that name in case anyone was left wondering).
Although it won't launch until next year, the services will reportedly offer over 2M songs for sale. Let's hope their service works better out of the gate than did Yahoo! Unlimited first attempt.
MTV remains a hot brand among the teen demographic, and they have expanded their online offerings to include not just MTV.com but also their well designed broadband site, Overdrive. Add to that the promotional power they have via their multiple TV networks (including MTV, MTV2, VH1 and CMT) and it's obvious they are a premier partner for any music site.
Microsoft will build the technology, which MTV Networks will own and operate. The service will be heavily integrated into Windows Media Player, which will give URGE another significant promotional boost.
It appears that they will be offering both the subscription model, as well as the "pay as you go" model, which is similar to Yahoo! Unlimited and Napster.
Also, of particular interest, is that the services will NOT be compatible with the ubiquitous Apple iPods. This could be a boon to companies like Dell, iRiver and others who sell competing portable MP3 players, as it could drive further adoption of these products among the heavily coveted teen set.
Given the fact that everyone has an iPod, I believe that if MTV can get some of the "cool kids" to "think different" and choose non-iPod products, this could be the beginning of a shift away from all things iPod.
Given Apple's stranglehold on the market (the iPod had an 82 percent share of the market in U.S.
retail stores), and all of the instapundits pooh-poohing the deal already, this could seem wishful thinking. However, history has proved time and again that there are always mavericks out there who will go against t
he tide. If these people are also influencial trendsetters, and
the timing is right (which it appears to be in this case), they can ultimately help change buying habits.
If I were thinking about strategies for other digital music device companies who are competing against Apple, I would definitely consider targeting young influencers, and try to piggyback on the URGE system to attempt to cre
ate a cache around being different by not buying an iPod. Maybe get a young, popular talent, such as Avril Lavigne, as the
spokesperson, etc. After all, what respectable teen still believes that it's cool to use the same product that their mom and dad now use?
