Conceding that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL)'s iPod will be the digital music player of choice for the foreseeable future, online music downloading service Rhapsody is rolling out a $50 million marketing effort to convince iPod users currently using iTunes to make the switch to Rhapsody. Partner sites include Yahoo, Verizon Wireless and iLike, and the downloads will be in the mp3 format so they can be played on iPods.

Rhapsody is a joint venture of Real Networks and Viacom, so it's one of the few online music providers that has the muscle to compete with Apple. But I doubt that they'll be able to. In just a few years, Apple has made itself the biggest seller of music in the country, and sales of music downloads grew about 35% in the most recent quarter, according to the company's 10-Q.

iTunes seems to be pretty entrenched, and I just can't see anything compelling coming from Rhapsody that would motivate anyone to switch from iTunes. Rhapsody vice president Neil Smith told Reuters that "We're no longer competing with iPod. We're embracing it."

But now they're competing with iTunes, and consumers seems to have overwhelmingly embraced that. You really have to question Rhapsody's -- and every other also-ran mp3 seller's -- reason for existing.

Rhapsody, a music download service owned by Real Networks (NASDAQ: RNWK) and Viacom (NYSE: VIA), will make yet another run at Apple Inc.'s (NASDAQ: AAPL) iTunes. According to Reuters, "Digital music seller Rhapsody is launching a $50 million marketing assault on Apple's iTunes, offering songs online and via partners including Yahoo Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) and Verizon Wireless."

Why the venture thinks it will have real success is anyone's guess. Downloading to Verizon Wireless phones is not exactly the kind of novelty that is likely to draw customers. The service will have one important new feature, though. Rhapsody subscribers have not been able to play their music on iTunes. Under the new push, that will change.

Memo to Rhapsody: The horse has already left the barn. Keeping the service off of the iPod for so long has helped iTunes move into a unassailable position.

Real Networks, which dominated the multimedia market with its Real Player from the late 1990s until about five years ago, was slaughtered by Apple when it offered a device coupled to a music store with the launch of the iPod.

There is no catching up now. The race is over.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

As I continuously ruminate about the state of music, album sales, and the growth of online digital markets, how much consumers care about these topics is something I have not strayed too close to. I think it is safe to say that consumers do care, but I cannot say if it is to the degree with which I am fascinated and write about it.

I was reminded by a mentor and colleague a few days ago how easy the use of Apple Inc.'s (NASDAQ: AAPL) iTunes Store and iPod are if you are hoping to listen to only one song or a few songs, but not an album. Of course, that very dynamic is what I so often write about in my blogs about the death of the album, but who exactly is decrying the death of the album? No matter how much I write about that death, it is very apparent that those who are worried about the death of such a money maker are the labels and the industry.

The nice thing about iTunes and other digital stores is that if you are just browsing you can listen to clips of the songs. This is not a method of shopping that you can easily acquire at stores like Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) or Target (NYSE: TGT), although Best Buy is beginning to incorporate computer stations where you can make test runs of programs like Rhapsody and Napster. They hope you will then sign up for a subscription to that service through Best Buy. Browsing at stores like these only ever really entails looking at the product. If you know nothing about it, then you cannot know if it will be something you are happy to spend your money on.