Rhapsody makes some cool moves in music – but misses the big opportunity

Rhapsody yesterday announced the launch of a new music service which has some cool features:

• Music will be available DRM free from all major labels – they join Amazon, Walmart, Napster and iTunes in selling DRM free MP3s, pretty much signalling the end for DRM in my view
• A partnership with Verizon brings mobile phones into the music service – full details here
• A partnership with iLike will make the music available for consumption across all the main socnets

The major ommission is of course the lack of an ad supported option. The exciting part of the market to go for is the millions of people who currently access music via P2P services, and hence don’t generate any revenue for anyone. A lot of value will be created if a decent proportion of that audience can be brought into an ad supported free to consume service. I believe that listening to a few ads in return for the increased convenience and security of a legal service will be an acceptable trade off for many.