British-based music download service 7digital announced today that it has launched a US-centric version of the site, which it hopes will take on the likes of iTunes in America.
Speaking at the launch of the company's new BlackBerry app, Ben Dury, CEO of 7digital, explained a little about plans to crack America, explaining: "Not many UK companies have managed to make the transition across the pond.
"Normally it is US companies that come over here. And it is interesting that services like Pandora and Real Networks' Rhapsody haven't managed to work over here. But we've made the transition."
Window of opportunity
As for what pushed 7digital to open up Stateside, Dury admitted that Blackberry's influence in the US helped a great deal.
"We've been working with the US, in terms of labels, for a long time," he explains. "And while we did want to launch earlier, we kind of had to wait for a window of opportunity, which was the BlackBerry app."
He continued: "BlackBerry is huge in the US, in terms of penetration. So this really helped us get over that stumbling block and enabled us to launch in the US."
7digital is offering MP3 downloads in the US from 77 cents. For more details, point your browser to us.7digital.com.
