Amazon Not Breaking Apple's Rhythm

Even if consumers do rally to subscription services, Amazon could have a hard time getting attention for its own. At least one other high-profile digital music store is expected to launch this year: Urge.com from Viacom's (VIA) MTV. The service was already touted by Microsoft at the Consumer Electronics Show and is sure to be heavily promoted across MTV's affiliated networks, analysts say.

"It's not just Apple that everyone is pointed against," says McGuire.

And then there's the coolness factor. With ads starring the likes of Eminem and Wynton Marsalis and its sleek players, Apple seems to have defined what's cool in digital music. Amazon could offer a digital music player with its own name on the outside, but would it crack the cool code? Analysts have their doubts.

Can you imagine a teenybopper bopping along to his Amazon pod or whatever?" says Bajarin. "That's a stretch for me."

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