Mega-retailer Wal-Mart introduced another instrument into the download fray Thursday with the launch of a new online music store within Windows Media Player.
Wal-Mart’s site, www.walmart.com/musicdownloads, will be a service provider within Microsoft’s first Digital Media Mall using Windows Media Player 10. Song will be offered for download for 88 cents each. Customers will still be able to purchase and download music directly from Walmart.com using the existing service the store launched in March.
Exclusive content from artists such as Beyonce, Avril Lavigne, Alan Jackson, Los Lonely Boys, L.L. Cool J., Patti LaBelle, Richard Marx and Brooks and Dunn has been one of the draws of the Wal-Mart site, according to the company.
Wal-Mart was only one of several music download services making noise this week. MSN debuted a preview release of its MSN Music service in the United States on Thursday, while Napster made available a preview version of its upcoming Napster To Go, what it is touting as the first “fully portable digital music subscription service.” For $14.95 per month, users can try the Napster preview, which lets consumers move an unlimited amount of music from Napster’s catalog to compatible MP3 players, in addition to unlimited full-length streaming and downloading
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