Welcome to gBox, iTunes Newest Competition
08.13.07 - 02:12pm
Universal is going DRM free and gBox is taking full advantage of Apple’s fight with Universal to step in to promote their new online music service.
Google has formed an advertising partnership with gBox in which Google will get paid by showing ads directing buyers to
gBox when a search is done for a particular artist. Buyers can then buy and download the song through gBox so rather than having to search through iTunes for an artist and song users can simply search for the artist or song and buy from there. Google will get paid in their standard advertising dollars from the seller of the music in this case Universal who will be paying for the ads rather than getting a cut of music sales such as iTunes does. Universal then has a separate deal with gBox for using their service to distribute and make their music available for download.
“Instead of doing marketing and (advertising on) billboards on Highway 101 to go to gBox,” gBox Chief Executive Tammy Artim said, “we want to take advantage of the viral element that has been so successful for companies in the past.”
GBox is also beginning a new way of utilizing the social networking side of the music market. If you’re a member of MySpace, Facebook or others and say have a birthday coming up and 257 friends who don’t know what to get you you can make a wish list of songs and your friends can go and purchase a song for you thus 257 friends could get you 257 songs after all their only a buck!
DRM free songs will be sold on gBox for 99 cents a full 30 cents less than Apple’s DRM free songs plus you can get Universal’s music DRM free which you will not be able to get on iTunes. Since Universal sells 1/4 of all the music in America this could be a big blow to iTunes, especially if the other major music labels follow Universals lead as they ussually do.
GBox will be kicking off August 21st and will be offering the selection of Universals DRM free songs till January 31st.
They say they have negotiated with other labels as well but cannot disclose them until the launch.
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