Rhapsody Opens DRM-Free Music Store

Get 256kbps tracks for 99 cents and most albums for $10 bucks, also offers $10 credit for first 100,000 who register.

Rhapsody and MTV Networks today launched a new Rhapsody music store as part of thier "Music Without Limits" initiative.

Their strategy is designed to change digital music industry in three ways:

• Accelerating the move away from DRM by making music from all major labels available in the DRM-free and interoperable MP3 format.


• Allowing music fans to conveniently stream full-length songs, and buy MP3s, anywhere they want including popular music sites and social networks on the Web


• Integrating digital music directly with mobile phones through a deep partnership between Rhapsody and Verizon Wireless.

"Until now, legal digital music has suffered from severe limitations on where consumers could buy it and how they could use it," said Rob Glaser, chairman and CEO of RealNetworks. "'Music Without Limits,' fixes those problems and will make digital music easier and more valuable for consumers. Rhapsody is proud...to connect consumers with digital music wherever they are and however they want it."

Visitors to the Rhapsody MP3 Store can now listen to full-length songs instead of the measly 30-second samples found on other sites. The Rhapsody MP3 catalogue will include more than 5 million songs from all four major music labels -- Universal Music Group, Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group, and EMI, and an extensive number of independent labels.

The Rhapsody MP3 Store also places a strong emphasis on the digital album with merchandising centers for "new album releases," "old favorites," and "who's on tour." Most albums will sell for $9.99 and tracks for $.99. with tracks encoded at a 256kbs bitrate.

As part of the new site launch Rhapsody is also giving away a free album to the first 100,000 people who sign up for the new store until July 4th.

"Rhapsody MP3 has made discovering and buying music risk free, with the freedom to listen to full-length songs before making a purchasing decision," said Neil Smith, vice president of marketing for Rhapsody. "To demonstrate what musical freedom is all about, we're giving an album to the first 100,000 people who sign up."

Seems like iTunes has some new competition in town.