Jun 1, 2003 12:00 PM, COMPILED BY SARAH BENZULY

On April 28, 2003, Apple announced its new music digital download service, iTunes MusicStore that uses the company's iTunes music jukebox software.

Garnering licensing deals with the five major labels, iTunes MusicStore currently offers 200,000 high-fidelity tracks, with more added daily. Features include: unlimited CD burns (though a user must modify the playlist after every 10 burns); compatibility with an unlimited number of iPod portable MP3 players; the ability to use the downloaded music with other “i” software; and the provision to play on up to three Macs at once via OS X's Rendevous software. This last feature allows the user to stream — not download — another user's playlist (as long as he/she is using iTunes jukebox) to his/her computer.

Users can preview a 30-second snippet of a desired track (AAC-encoded at 128 kbps) for free and then purchase that track for $0.99 (or $9.99 for an entire album). Credit card charges are made via Apple's one-click shopping, where a user's card is charged for each purchase.

Other features of the new service include original CD artwork; the ability to browse by genre, artist or album; exclusive tracks from 20 (and growing) artists; streaming video; and links to artists' Websites.

Available immediately, the currently Mac-only (Windows compatibility is expected at the end of this year) service is available as a free download at www.applemusic.com; there is a free software upgrade for iPod users who need iTunes 4.

Send Your “Current” News to Sarah Benzuly at sbenzuly@primediabusiness.com.

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