After two months in invite-only beta, streaming music service Rdio will enter general availability Tuesday morning, offering unlimited access to a library of seven million songs for a flat fee of $5 for desktop service and $10 to add a mobile component. Read More »
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Paul Bonanos
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Expected soon after the launch of its music subscription service last fall, MOG’s iPhone and Android mobile apps will allow access to a library of more than 8 million songs for a monthly fee of about $10. That represents an increasingly attractive standalone offering for handset… Read More »
The newest music subscription service to launch is Rdio, the creation of Skype and Kazaa founders Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis. Like some of its newly launched peers, it’s a well-designed service that’s satisfying to curious listeners, but how many people will pay for it? Read More »
Sorry, “web song” buyers: Lala.com now says its service will be shut down on May 31. Whatever Apple is planning to do with Lala, the cloud-based streaming music service it acquired in December, it’s not going to keep the site functioning as it once did. Read More »
Midomi has rebranded itself as SoundHound and introduced a new freemium model aimed at challenging Shazam on both free and paid music app charts. Its ambitions could also make SoundHound a target for acquisition, since it does something Google and its rivals cannot. Read More »
Music subscription provider Rhapsody became an independent company, two months after RealNetworks revealed plans to cede majority control of the unit. Rhapsody, in which RealNetworks and Viacom now hold minority stakes, also slashed its monthly subscription price to compete with innovative rivals that have appeared recently. Read More »
Well-funded Australian music site Guvera launched quietly in the U.S. this week, offering a new twist on the free ad-supported download model some have left for dead. But if users don’t engage with the ads they serve, will advertisers get their money’s worth? Read More »
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A smash hit in Europe, streaming music service Spotify now reportedly aims to launch in the U.S. by the third quarter of 2010. Once expected in the second half of 2009, the rollout has been delayed as questions about Spotify’s business model have arisen. Read More »
Music is moving into the cloud. Access is replacing ownership of albums and song files, online streams are replacing desktop playback and mobile access is renewing interest in on-demand music subscriptions. So how come I’m still not ready to pay for any of it? Read More »
Music subscription services promise unlimited access to enormous libraries of songs, typically on the order of 6-10 million tracks. But there are plenty of empty trays at the all-you-can-eat music buffet, some of which will leave you hungrier than others. Read More »
Music service MOG unveiled its new mobile applications today, promising premium subscribers the ability to stream any song, anytime, anywhere. Its launch also represents an erosion of opportunity for Spotify, the European service that has promised (and delayed) its U.S. launch for several months. Read More »
If Apple’s iTunes LP format was supposed to give music fans a new reason to buy albums instead of individual songs, its impact on record sales has been a major disappointment. Six months after its introduction, the format is more a curiosity than a game-changer. Read More »
With the launch of its music service for BlackBerrys, Thumbplay is the latest company hoping that anytime-anywhere access will make consumers pay a monthly fee to hear a massive library of music. Given its large installed base and understanding of mobile behavior, don’t count Thumbplay out. Read More »
Music subscription service provider MOG has raised $9.5 million in a new round of venture funding, with UK-based Balderton Capital joining lead investor Menlo Ventures, an existing stakeholder, in the round. MOG is planning a consumer marketing push, mobile apps, and a UK launch. Read More »
Aha Mobile’s newly revised mobile application includes news, podcasts, social media streams, and information about nearby businesses, with minimal finger gestures and onscreen reading required in an effort to ensure the safety of both drivers and the people around them. Read More »
If music subscription service Rhapsody hoped that adding a mobile component would turn around its fortunes, new numbers suggest otherwise. Rhapsody’s subscriber base dipped below 700,000 by year’s end, meaning that its mobile applications aren’t winning over new customers fast enough to replace cancellations. Read More »
Warner Music Group president Edgar Bronfman articulated yesterday what we’ve known for awhile: Major record labels have lost confidence in the free streaming model for music consumption. But while WMG may not be ready to pull content from Spotify, it can stall its stateside growth. Read More »
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