RealNetworks to launch Rhapsody To Go music subscription service

By Ryan Block

Remember the back when it was just Apple with iTunes running
FairPlay DRMed AAC, getting the whole royalty-levied downloadable music pie to themselves? Then all of a sudden it was everybody else and their mother with the subscription-enabling PlaysForSure DRMed WMA; well, get ready to welcome RealNetworks
to the table. Their Rhapsody To Go service (where'd they
get that name?), which they claim is going to "revolutionize" music, makes them the latest to take advantage of the music subscription service angle where $15 a month will buy you access to unlimited downloads (as well as make you a member of their regular Rhapsody service).
We're not saying this is a bad idea for Real or anything, but we just hope they have a plan to make up for some serious lost ground—say, two Superbowl commercial's worth? Perhaps another
sale might be an order?

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