Web: www.mycokemusic.com
Developer: bd-network/OD2
The cola wars have begun in the digital music market. As Coca-Cola gives mycokemusic.com to consumers in the UK and US, Pepsi is giving away 100 million tracks through Apple's iTunes.
But, is Coke really interested in becoming a music distributor or is it just a branding exercise? Mycokemusic has been greeted with some criticism since it launched on 12 January. It certainly suffered some early technical glitches, but most have been ironed out.
With a broadband connection, the site loaded fast and I was able to browse music, listen to previews, set up an account and buy tracks for 99p. But I did find a couple of technical gremlins. It took three attempts to charge my credit card and I haven't been able to download single-play songs for 1p. The credit gets deducted from my account, but there's no song.
The site has been well branded with the Coke image and there is an impressive 250,000 available music tracks. Navigation is generally straightforward and integration with Windows Media Player is slick. I like the 30-second track previews that slide in at the bottom of the screen, but I was disappointed that there is little engagement with music fans. Suggesting similar artists, inviting comments or helping users to explore genres, such as Jazz, would be good. Just having an alphabetical list of artists is insufficient.
Some internet users may be put off by the requirement to upgrade your Windows Media Player with a new licence key. This provides copy-protection for each downloaded track, linking them to your computer and, in effect, preventing you passing them on to friends.
I can, however, question the complete lack of consideration for accessibility. Surely, as we head towards the deadline for compliance with the Disabilities Discrimination Act in October, it is unacceptable for a big brand to ignore its blind and partially-sighted customers to such an extent, particularly when music and soft drinks are enjoyed by this audience.
And that leads me on to the question of why it has created the site at all. It looks very Coke, but only until I buy and download the tracks. Then, it is simply Windows Media Player and my association with the brand ends. Tracks bought on mycokemusic simply join the music I have already bought from other sites. Is this planned as a revenue stream for Coke, rather than a promotion, or will we see linked sales drives for the soft drink to drive people to the site? We've seen Coke move into clothing, but running a music retailer seems a bigger proposition.
It will be interesting to see if it provides further music content over the next few months, and if both the technical and accessibility problems are ironed out.
AND NOW FOR THE REST ...
Downloading music presents a choice: do you do it legally from sites like mycokemusic or use a file-sharing peer-to-peer network, which could be illegal. Recent moves by Apple, Microsoft and brands like Coke will make most of us go legal, especially if the price of digital music falls.
I looked at Kazaa (www.kazaa.com), Grokster (www.grokster.com) and Napster (www.nap ster.com) on my PC and Acquisition (www.acquisitionx.com) on my Mac. Three of these are file-sharing operations. Napster has gone legal, but I couldn't do anything other than download the Napster software as there is no available music in the UK.
Grokster, Kazaa and Acquisition provide software for searching other people's computers to find stored tracks. PC software generally comes in two versions: a free one, supported by ads, and a paid-for version without pop-ups. These ads definitely set the tone for the experience and I suspect few FMCG brands will rush to advertise alongside internet casinos, spyware software and health products.
The experience is like a car-boot sale. Searching for 'Kylie' produces results that are definitely not tracks from her latest album. Less common tracks took ages to download and a few of the popular ones were corrupt. The only advantage is that the music, like radio, is free.
Mycokemusic is one of a family of web sites powered by Peter Gabriel's company, On Demand Distribution (OD2), (www.on demanddistribution.com). HMV, MSN, Freeserve, Tiscali, Ministry of Sound and Virgin Megastores use the same underlying store with different graphics and content. These sites work with Windows Media Player (WMP) and you can listen to all the music you buy on one player. I can also burn CDs from my downloaded music. Track pricing is generally similar, though some sites are experimenting with a mix of subscription and a lower per-track price. There is a chance for more brands to get involved in innovative offers linked to these sites.
This is the route Pepsi (www.pepsi.com) has taken in the US with Apple in launching a 100-million track giveaway. Customers have a one-in-three chance of finding a token on a bottle of Pepsi. Entering it into Apple's iTunes Music Store (www.itunes.com) will allow the track to be downloaded free. This offer, like the Music Store itself, is unavailable in the UK for now, but, unlike Napster, I can preview all of iTunes' tracks. ITunes works identically on PCs and Macs, although the music format it uses, AAC, is not inter-changeable with Microsoft's. iTunes also has the advantage of being the power behind iPod and this, together with support from companies like Pepsi, give it a real chance against WMP.
The contrast between Coke and Pepsi is interesting. Pepsi is definitely using music to encourage consumption of their drinks, while Coke may have a longer term interest.
This is an area of new media that is very much in its infancy, but it's clear that music distribution online will eventually replace CDs, at least in the retail channel. It's good to see firms experimenting with technology and pricing. Most people will want to buy music that's cheap, convenient and reliable.
I'm a big fan of radio as a distribution medium and look forward to online subscription and pricing models that let me listen to a track without having to buy.
TOP FIVE DIGITAL MUSIC SITES
Rank Web address Visits Bookmarks
(% relative market share) (%)
1 www.kazaa.com 33.06 0.97
2 www.mycokemusic.com 13.22 2.28
3 www.musicmatch.com 13.06 0.85
4 www.blubster.net 11.07 0
5 www.grokster.com 9.09 0
Rank Web address Pages Bookmarks
(% relative market share) (%)
1 www.kazaa.com 32.48 0.97
2 www.mycokemusic.com 23.66 2.28
3 www.musicmatch.com 13.23 0.85
4 www.grokster.com 8.42 0
5= www.blubster.net 6.82 0
5= www.apple.com/itunes 6.82 0
Rank Web address Session time Bookmarks
(minutes) (%)
1 www.musicmatch.com 4:39 0.85
2 www.mp3.com 4:03 1.06
3 www.grokster.com 3:44 0
4 www.kazaa.com 3:12 0.97
5 www.apple.com/itunes 2:25 0
SOURCE: Hitwise. Figures for week ending 31 January 2004
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