(With this deal) the major labels have stopped whining about absolute control and embraced a new business model. Secure delivery, the majors' magic bullet, is overrated; legitimately making music available is the strongest weapon in the fight against music theft.
No, not right now. The service consumers want is not what the record labels are currently able to provide. Anybody who is satisfying consumer demand will have to be doing it outside of the sphere of the record labels.
Now that the labels are indicating that they are willing to give licenses out for at least some kinds of music service ventures, the floodgates are opening and anyone who wants to be a big player in this space in 2001-2002 had better get moving now.