Online auction powerhouse eBay (EBAY) has entered the booming digital music download marketplace, but not with used MP3s.
EBay’s digital download area is a shift from its best-known business: a virtual flea market of goods. Instead, a handful of record labels will sell music they own directly to consumers.
The digital area is set up as a six-month test to see how music is welcomed by the eBay community, spokesman Hani Durzy says.
Several companies, including Sony and Wal-Mart, entered the digital music market in recent months, hoping to cash in on Apple’s success: Its iTunes sold 100 million downloads since 2003. Microsoft plans to launch a download store later this year.
