Product details

Examines RealNetwork's (Real's) strategy for the rapidly emerging on-line music market. In contrast to rivals who sell individual copies of songs, Real offers on-line music on a subscription basis. For a $10 monthly fee, subscribers to Real's Rhapsody service have unlimited rights to stream all songs from a 600,000-title library to any PC and can burn CD copies of these songs for 79 cents apiece. Real faces significant marketing challenges in persuading consumers to 'rent' rather than own their music. The company must decide which channel partners - broadband access providers, consumer electronics retailers, PC manufacturers, or portals - are best equipped to help sell its services. Finally, Real must determine how to differentiate its services from those soon to be offered by a glut of new competitors poised to enter the on-line music market, including Wal-Mart, Viacom, Sony, Dell, and Microsoft.