OD2 has announced that it is adding one million more tunes to its library of tracks. Currently standing at about 350,000 songs, OD2’s white label offering for outfits like MyCokeMusic and HMV was looking a little slim, but now they’re going to take it to 1.3 million.
The new catalogue, which is not compatible with the iPod, should be available by the end of the year.
iTunes and Napster offer 750,000 tracks a piece, but are adding more music every week and indeed Apple are close to signing a major indie deal to expand their own catalogue.
OD2 was recently acquired by Loudeye, hence the sudden access to a massive amount of new music.
OD2 are pleased with their sales growth, and announced yesterday that they saw a “significant increase in activity” in the second quarter of this year, citing a 28% increase in sales the week that iTunes launched in Europe, and a 22% rise the week Napster launched. But could this simply be the old internet phenomenon of “a rising tide lifts all boats”, and that growth for all music sites is increasing rapidly?
Market share will decide who wins – when catalogues are so large as to be virtually identical, the consumer will have to choose between their preferred DRM and favourite music hardware. There’s no doubt that iTunes sells iPods, but Windows Media-based sites like OD2’s offering selling WM-compatible devices?
