MTV, the leading music television broadcaster, is considering a move into the fast-ex
Tom Freston, chairman and chief executive of MTV Networks, said the company was studying the move “very carefully”, although no final decision has been taken.
MTV’s move would mark a significant endorsement of online music at a time when the world’s largest entertainment companies are fighting increasingly bitter battles against illegal file-sharing services. Although Apple has seized the initiative with its iTunes music store, other large groups such as Microsoft and Sony are scrambling to catch up.
Apple reported last month that 10m songs had been downloaded from its music service, currently only available to Apple Mac users in North America. But Mr Freston said that while sales had taken off, he expected further growth in the market.
“We’re really on the cusp of the legitimate digital music revolution.”
Mr Freston questioned the wisdom of recent moves by the Recording Industry Association of America, the music business lobbying group, to sue persistent music downloaders. However, he admitted he did not have a solution to the problem.
“They’re up against a culture of file-sharing that has evolved and engrained itself in consumer behaviour. That’s a formidable obstacle, so they’re almost damned if they do or damned if they don’t.”
By Peter Thal Larsen in New York and Tim Burt in London
