RealJukebox is the front-end component of RealSystem MP, a more comprehensive set of Internet and PC-level services that will include, most notably, integration with portable player devices and frameworks for online purchasing and rights management. In contrast to the Microsoft Windows Media platform, which relies on Microsoft's proprietary Rights Manager services, RealSystem MP will support multiple rights management systems through open programming interfaces.
RealNetworks is supporting the Secure Digital Music Initiative (SDMI), a collaboration of recording and technology companies that is working to create an industry-standard framework for rights management. But companies are reluctant to wait for SDMI to deliver a standard.
"We base our strategy on not having a dependency on whether SDMI coalesces in three months or three years," Glaser said. Jay Kim, an analyst at Paul Kagan Associates, said RealJukebox "is exactly what the market needs" to make digital music accessible to a mainstream audience.
