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Today, Samsung became the latest manufacturer to try the approach of selling music itself, rather than merely offering compatibility with other companies' online music stores. The company announced that it will work with MusicNet as part of a "long-term European partnership" to offer a la carte download stores and subscription services initially in the UK, Germany, and France, with European and Asian expansion planned for a later date.
It's looking more and more like each major player in digital music will have its own music ecosystem: Apple, Microsoft, Samsung, and possibly Sandisk as well. As if on cue, Belkin also announced today a slew of Samsung MP3 player accessories, similar to the ones it already makes for the Apple iPod (an FM transmitter, a recharging kit, several protective cases, a screen protector, and a car kit). If Samsung has a store, players, and accessories, it's one step closer to being Apple.
That appears to be quite a popular aspiration these days – even Microsoft is copying Apple's approach, and Samsung's next in line. If every MP3 player manufacturer develops its own store with its own DRM, the real winner will be whichever company develops conversion techniques for poaching other stores' install base. Real's Harmony technology already does this to a certain extent by emulating Apple's FairPlay DRM; look for more news along those lines, as the digital music market fragments even further.
