Despite its discounted pricing, the Walmart Music Downloads Store is closing down effective Aug. 28 after eight years of operation.
It sold digital songs for 88 cents, 11 percent cheaper than the majority of all other music download stores. In 2008, Walmart secured deals that allowed the retailer to remove digital rights management from the tracks, giving consumers considerable flexibility regarding playback devices and backup copies.
What the web store didn’t have, however, was an easy way to handle, manage and organize the purchased songs. Consumers had to enter a credit card number each time they made a transaction, and then they were left on their own to integrate them into their digital libraries.
The closure of Walmart Music Downloads Store could be evidence that price alone is not the most important element in the purchasing decision, giving credence to those in the music industry who believe a good customer experience can make it worthwhile to purchase music rather than obtain it illegally.
Walmart said in a statement that sales of physical music products are unaffected by this action, as is the operation of the streaming-only service Walmart Soundcheck.
Related Links:
Digital Music News – http://tinyurl.com/3obzswp
AP – http://tinyurl.com/3lnvmy8
It could also be evidence that 88 cent is more expensive than illegal downloads, and that downloading a file to play instead of streaming has turned obsolete.