Back in 2003, when iPods didn’t make phone calls and people still bought music on something called Compact Discs, Walmart apparently launched an online MP3 download store to compete with Apple’s iTunes. And while Big W is the nation’s largest retailer, it failed at unseating King Apple from the throne. Thus, today it announced it would close the store for good later this month.

“We recently notified our music partners that we’ve made a business decision to no longer offer MP3 digital tracks as of Aug. 29, 2011,” writes Walmart, surely tearing up over the decision.

According to the NY Times, the retailer had originally hoped that its original price of $.88 per track would undercut the $.99 Apple charged at the time. Even now, its prices are still a few cents cheaper than the iTunes store.

For those who might have purchased MP3s from Walmart that came packaged with its proprietary DRM, you’re not completely out of luck. The store says it will still offer support so customers should be able to continue playing those tunes.

After 7 Years, Wal-Mart Closes Its MP3 Store [NY Times via AVclub.com]

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