With Microsoft's (NASDAQ:MSFT) muscle backing it up, Viacom's (NYSE:VIA) MTV will enter the digital music and content field by launching the public beta of its URGE music and video store Wednesday. Will this add up to big problems for Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), the current top dog of digital music?

We first learned of URGE, a subscription service similar to those provided by RealNetworks (NASDAQ:RNWK) and Napster (NASDAQ:NAPS), in late 2005. It's integrated with the latest upgrade of Microsoft's Media Player, which will be available for download on both Microsoft's and MTV's websites, and will offer two tiers of service for $9.95 or $14.95 per month. Aside from the aforementioned rival services, Sony (NYSE:SNE) also offers a music service called Connect, while a long-expected offering from Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) remains a no-show.

Much like Napster and RealNetworks' Rhapsody, URGE allows paying subscribers to download as many songs as they want from its 2 million-track catalog. When subscribers stop paying their monthly fees, they will no longer be able to play those songs on their computers or digital music devices.

As a child of the '80s, I'm tempted to lump MTV in with Sony's Walkman as retro players in a brave new world of digital content. MTV and the Walkman were both huge forces in music in the eighties. Though Sony lost its way and let Apple take the lead, MTV remains a powerful brand in music, regardless of what my generation might have to say about its evolution. It's still got tons of proprietary content, with a huge library of video programming. (Apple boasts more than 3,000 videos in iTunes, but that service is still in its nascent stages).

Parent Viacom points out MTV's strengths in its 10-K filing. MTV has been named one of the world's most valuable brands by brand consultancy Interbrand, and the company describes MTV as "the top ad-supported 24-hour basic cable network for 12- to 24-year-olds for 35 consecutive quarters."

Although URGE will make content available to 100 different devices, the big deal is that it won't play on Apple's iPods. (Bear in mind that some of Viacom's video content is available through iTunes.) While I do have to give a lot of points to this musical offering given MTV's content and clout, the iPod/iTunes juggernaut is still the hip spot. (Given recent developments, such as lower price points on iPod offerings, Apple has no intention of easing up, either.) URGE will probably appeal only to those who have no interest in Apple's products -- which should add up to a more urgent competitive concern for the likes of RealNetworks, Napster, Sony, and the rest than it will for Apple.

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Alyce Lomax does not own shares of any of the companies mentioned.