MTV Urge service was a disaster from the start

MTV has announced that it will merge its failed Urge music service with RealNetworks Rhapsody digital music service (http://www.betanews.com/article/MTV_Kills_URGE_Joins_Real_on_Rhapsody/1187660823). The new service will completely lose the Urge brand and will be called "Rhapsody America" which will be co-owned by both Real and MTV. Not that Urge has been much of a brand to care about. Even though I see commercials on MTV for Urge at almost every break, the service failed to even be a blip on the radar for the average digital music consumer. It failed because of a few key miscalculations:

- Urge tracks were NOT compatible with iPod. You look at that statement and your jaw drops but they are not alone. Amazon's service will have a much better shot at making a dent in the iTunes monopoly simply for the fact that it has iPod-compatible, DRM-free tracks.

- There was nothing to differentiate the service from any other. No killer feature, no compelling content, not even a price break. They literally approached this like iTunes and the iPod didn't exist.

- They partnered with Microsoft when Urge was first launched. So they had to use the .WMV file format which does not work on iPods. As is the case in many Microsoft partnerships, MTV was stabbed in the back less than a year later when Microsoft announced the Zune player and its own music service.

These guys still don't get it. First of all, Rhapsody is barely hanging on so they aren't going to do much to prop up what was once Urge. In fact, MTV's clout may end up helping Rhapsody more than it helps themselves. Supposedly, the deal includes TV ads and a big marketing budget. They are going to need it. The problem is, it doesn't matter how good your marketing is, if your product sucks.

Rob Glaser, CEO of RealNetworks said: "Today's announcements represent a sea-change in the digital music market. We'll make Rhapsody the premier digital music service that delivers great music to millions of consumers whenever and wherever they want."

Hardly sounds innovative or competitive. If I were Apple, I wouldn't even be reading this article. There is no threat here.