RealNetworks’ Rhapsody music looks to steal some of iTunes thunder.

On June 30 the company announced the opening of its MP3 store. The new service does away entirely with digital rights management. iTunes uses DRM for a good portion of its music, but newer MP3 stores like Amazon’s, which launched last September, have dropped it. Listeners will be able to play music anywhere - even on an iPod

This will expand the playing field immensely and it could be costly to iTunes. I don’t see iTunes shaking yet.

Rhapsody has formed many partnerships to create a music ecosystem that will make it simpler for listeners to find and buy music, an initiative the company calls “Music without Limits.” Partners including iLike, Yahoo and MTV’s network will distribute Rhapsody-powered music through social media. And Verizon’s deal will let listeners download music easily to their PCs as soon as they buy it on their phones.

Should iTunes be concerned? I am not sure this will steal anything significant from iTunes business, though it will get attention.