eMusic considering launching services in Asia

eMusic considering launching services in Asia

Digital music store eMusic has said that they are now considering launching their services in the Asian markets. The company had a successful rollout across Europe in 2006.

They launched their operations in all the 27 European Union member states and they now compete against the market leader Apple iTunes in several huge markets including UK and Germany.

eMusic is now looking towards the Japanese and other Asian countries for growth this year. Company said in a statement: “Aggressive international expansion is on the calendar for us. The Asian markets are interesting but they’re challenging.”

eMusic Chief Executive David Pakman added: “In 150 days since the launch we’ve sold 4.5 million tracks and we think that makes us the undisputable number two. On the whole we (have seen) that the convergence rate (of people looking at the Web site to becoming a subscriber) is higher in Europe than the U.S. which suggests that there is pent up demand here for legal, easy to use, digital services.”

They are already the second largest online store in the US market after the Apple iTunes.

Pakman added about their services: “The older consumer is terribly underserved by retail today yet it is the only segment that is still buying music in meaningful numbers. It’s better to have a more diverse selection and cater to a lot of people’s taste.”