Coca-Cola and Apple today announced a music partnership in Europe that includes major promotions in the UK and Germany and the launch of a new Coke branded music website across Europe, including the UK, Germany, Austria and Switzerland. As part of the promotion, Coke and Apple will be giving away 70 million free songs from the iTunes Music Store in the UK and thousands of iPods in Germany.It remains unclear why France, or other major European countries, are not included in this event. Is it directly link to the percentage of market share owned by Coca-Cola in those countries. In France, Coca-Cola has almost a monopoly for soda-type drinks.
The new www.Coca-Cola.com/music website is a Coke branded music destination launching next week that features iTunes integration throughout, providing fans with links to music and information focused on giving fresh talent new exposure. In the UK, Germany, Austria and Switzerland unsigned artists will have a venue to upload songs, giving them potential for broad exposure on the site through artist highlights, European podcasts available on iTunes, and invitations to play at Coke sponsored European festivals.
To kick-off the partnership, live concerts will be held in the UK, Germany, Austria and Switzerland, with selected live songs and video podcasts from the performances available on iTunes and www.Coca-Cola.com/music.
The very exciting point of this announcement is the possibility for local bands to upload their music on the www.Coca-Cola.com/music website. Is it the first sign of Apple's answer to some criticisms from Music majors or the upcoming Microsoft "Zune"?
