EMusic’s pitch: Download song – and own it

The smash success of Apple’s iPod is paying huge dividends for a less-well-known music industry player, online retailer eMusic.

Apple has sold nearly 60 million iPods since 2001, and music fans regularly frequent the company’s iTunes online store to buy songs for their iPods – giving iTunes a nearly 70% share of the music-download market.

Rivals
Napster, Rhapsody, Yahoo Music and others compete with similar online offerings. Their songs don’t play easily on iPods, however, hindering their growth.

Then there’s eMusic and its more than 1 million songs, which do play on iPods – and the company isn’t shy about letting customers know. “Get 25 free iPod-compatible downloads just for trying us out,” eMusic says in its current TV ad.

Related

1. eMusic intros UK MP3 download service
2. Closed systems leave song buyers out in the cold
3. How labels could optimize eMusic vs. non-eMusic sales
4. EMusic ends unlimited service
5. Don’t Download This Song Says Weird Al