The Music Industry in the last ten years has been off it's game, to say the least. We are currently down to three major labels, and the rise of iTunes has single handedly killed the album, and the record stores that provide them. The internet, while allowing for exploration of new artists and music, has turned the music industry on it's head. The launch of another internet music provider should concern consumers. As discussed in the article, Microsoft wading into the (already) nasty battle for internet listeners will further divide the music industry. Various squabbles have happened over access to artists on the net, most notoriously Apple Corps refusal to sell the Beatles music in the iTunes store (an issue that has since been resolved . Other situations however have not. Many albums are available on one service or another. Certain singles are only made available in certain platforms. This issue is no where near being resolved, and with Microsoft (and all of it's money) wading into the mess, it will probably get a whole lot worse before it gets better.
