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NEW YORK -- Best Buy, in cooperation with RealNetworks and SanDisk, is the latest company to join the growing list of competitors challenging Apple Computer's iTunes music service.

Best Buy today unveiled an online music service called Best Buy Digital Music Store that allows customers to find, manage, and purchase music online. It is powered by RealNetworks' Rhapsody 4.0 music service and lets users purchase and permanently download songs and albums, as well as subscribe monthly to listen to an unlimited number of songs, the company says.

As part of the offering, Best Buy will carry and promote SanDisk Sansa e200R Rhapsody MP3 players, which have been optimized to work with the new music service. Both the players and the service will be available starting October 15, the company says.

Exclusive Content

Jennifer Schaidler, vice president of music for Best Buy, says the company is differentiating its service from Rhapsody by offering exclusive artist content and tailoring that to what Best Buy customers are purchasing.

"Look at it as Rhapsody 4.0 plus," she says. "You get all the stuff that's there [on Rhapsody], plus more exclusive content."

Selling CDs and MP3 players in its stores and online is already a successful part of Best Buy's business, so offering a music service was a logical next step for the company, Schaidler says. "Customers expect Best Buy to provide them with quality entertainment in an easy way," she says.

Per Song or Subscription

Songs on the Best Buy Digital Music Store will cost 99 cents, with monthly subscriptions that allow users to play an unlimited number of songs for $15 a month.

The news comes on the heels of the formal unveiling last week of the availability and pricing for Microsoft's forthcoming Zune Player and Zune Marketplace service. Microsoft will make the digital media players and service available in the United States on November 14.

Like Best Buy's new service, songs on the Zune Marketplace will cost about 99 cents each, though the charges will be according to a points system (namely, 79 points a song) that will allow users to purchase items on other Microsoft properties, such as Xbox Live. Zune Marketplace's unlimited monthly subscription also costs $15 a month. Songs on Apple's iTunes service cost 99 cents, but no monthly subscription is available.

Pricing for the SanDisk music player that works with the new Best Buy service is higher than that of comparable iPod or Zune devices, however. The Zune digital media player, which has 30GB of storage, will cost $250, the same as 30GB video iPods already available from Apple. SanDisk Sansa e200r MP3 players come in two models: a 2GB model for $140 and an 8GB model for $250. However, while the Zune player and the SanDisk Sansa players include an FM radio tuner in addition to the ability to play digital music, videos, and photos, the iPod has only the latter features.

To promote its new service, Best Buy will launch with an exclusive track from recording artist Diddy from his new CD, Press Play. The CD will be on sale October 17.