Linux leader offering cheap music downloads; no rights protection on files means they will be more portable

• Click HereMP3tunes.com introduced its digital music service on Wednesday, offering 300,000 songs at 88 cents each from mostly independent and unsigned artists.
• As earlier reported, the new download service is the brainchild of Michael Robertson, current chief executive of Linux software company Linspire and Net-calling service SIPphone.
• Robertson, known most recently for his high-profile court battle with Microsoft over the naming of Lindows, now known as Linspire, said MP3tunes.com will offer a distinct alternative to popular music services such as Apple Computer's iTunes by directly courting fans of Linux software and by shunning digital rights management (DRM) protection.
• "Digital music sales make up less than 2 percent of the total music business because many consumers know they aren't really buying the music--they're renting it from a big corporation that controls what software, computer and portable devices they can use," Robertson said in a statement.
• By offering customers the ability to play their music files on any sort of device, Robertson is hoping to challenge download sites that have taken a less open approach with their digital music services.
• Other features of the service include the free "music locker" for permanent storage of purchased songs, unlimited downloads of purchased titles, and the ability to listen to clips of songs before buying them.
• While MP3tunes.com lacks the major label clout of its competitors, Robertson pointed to popular recording artists such as Linkin Park and Maroon 5 who were still relative unknowns when they first began posting material to MP3.com.
• "All new trends in music start with emerging artists and progressive-thinking labels who are most willing to try new approaches, which is where MP3tunes is focusing initially," Robertson said.
• Mike McGuire, an analyst at research firm Gartner, said that MP3tunes' first challenge will be getting consumers to go to the site and pay for downloads, an issue that he said is a struggle for every online music store other than iTunes at present.