Matt Kapko

Verizon Wireless and RealNetworks put on a lunch-time event in West Hollywood today, but hardly anyone showed up – making the intimate affair seem even smaller than planned. The five journalists that did make it to the event were handily outnumbered by the Verizon and RealNetworks employees who were on hand to discuss the Music Without Limits service that launched earlier this summer. Ed Ruth, director of music for Verizon Wireless, said the concept and value of mobile music has always been “amazing,” but the connectivity piece with multiple devices and platforms has been missing. He and many others working on the new service believe this turns the corner on that bottleneck for many consumers. Ruth added that Music Without Limits has taken down the “one-to-many paradigm that exists in music today… In this model it’s brought to you. It’s more of a push than a pull.”

All in all, you could sense a little unease in the room considering the low turnout. The companies have been putting some marketing dollars behind the new initiative and this was clearly an attempt at keeping the chatter going. The room that was booked for the event was small so neither company was planning a big show, but only about half of those that were invited showed up. You’d think a free LG Chocolate 3, a Jabra stereo Bluetooth headset and three months of Verizon Wireless and Rhapsody service would be enough to get people’s attention, but that didn’t pan out. The companies are planning a similar event in New York City Thursday. I get the sense they’re holding out hope for a larger audience. I’ll be checking out the Music Without Limits service over the next few days. Be sure to check back here soon for a detailed review.