Amazon music store around the corner
TEXT OF STORY
SCOTT JAGOW: The planet’s largest online retailer is only getting bigger. Yesterday, Amazon said first quarter profits more than doubled. Sales climbed by nearly a third. Amazon now sells just about everything you can think of. And it’s getting ready to launch an online music store. Hmmm. Should Apple be worried? Our Lisa Napoli looked into it.
LISA NAPOLI: Amazon has said for ages that it wants to get into the digital music download game. Now, word is that it plans to finally launch sometime in May.
It’s reportedly also been trying to get record labels to allow the sale of music without copy protection.
Industry analysts say that’s the only way Amazon could ever hope to succeed against Apple’s iTunes.
Music-watcher Paul Resnikoff says it’s not likely the music companies will bite. So why is Amazon even bothering to start an online store?
PAUL RESNIKOFF: Amazon already has a huge audience. So the idea is, well why don’t we just throw a download into the mix? And then down the road, as digital media starts to take a bigger and bigger role, they want to be a part of that.
Forward-thinking is probably best in the digital download space, since Apple owns at least 80 percent of the current market.
In Los Angeles, I’m Lisa Napoli for Marketplace.
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