Real Strikes New Rhapsody Distribution Deals

Aiming to take on both Microsoft and Apple head on, Real on Monday announced several new deals to expand Rhapsody's presence in the music industry. Deals with Nokia, Reigncom (maker of the iRiver), and TiVo were some of the companies that announced support for the Rhapsody DNA platform. With Microsoft apparently abandoning PlaysForSure for the Zune, it appears that Real is stepping in to fill that void.

Nokia would support the service in its next-generation Internet Tablet, while Reigncom would produce several versions of the iRiver MP3 player compatible with Rhapsody. Also planned is the capability to play Rhapsody content through the TiVo set-top box, expected later this year. "Our vision for Rhapsody is to deliver seamless and personalized access to millions of songs, on-demand and from any device," music and video senior vice president Dan Sheeran said.