Microsoft Joins iTunes Market

Yesterday, Microsoft announced the release of its new service, MSN Music, which will function much like Apple's popular iTunes Music Store with $.99 downloads and $9.99 albums. How will the entry of Microsoft, with its 95% market share on operating systems, affect the digital media marketplace? As Berkman Executive Director John Palfrey explained in a story in Red Herring, "Apple has to know that when Microsoft gets serious about having people adopt the Microsoft standard, their lead is in jeopardy." The Berkman Center's Digital Media Project is tracking developments in this space -- see, for example, our iTunes Case Study on the legal implications of the new services.