Sony expands Music Unlimited service
Sony Corp. has expanded its digital music service, Music Unlimited, to France, Germany, Italy and Spain.
Music Unlimited, which launched in the U.K. and Ireland in December, is a cloud-based, digital music service that gives access to a catalogue of millions of songs from major labels including Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group and EMI Music as well as independent labels and publishers world-wide.
Users can play music through Internet-connected Sony devices including Sony’s 2010 and 2011 models of network-enabled BRAVIA TV, Blu-ray Disc player, Blu-ray Disc Home Theater system, PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system as well as VAIO and other personal computers.
According to Kazuo Hirai, President of Networked Products & Services Group, Sony,Music Unlimited will not only enhance customers’ Sony devices by unifying their music experiences and content, but will further open up access, create music discovery opportunities and spawn new listening possibilities for customers.
AT&T music apps to launch soon (USA)
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: AT&T Music, a new mobile broadband application integrating song and album downloads, streaming radio; song match has been announced to be launched by telecom operator, AT&T. The apps also include lyric search and an enhanced media player.
40 commercial-free, genre-specific radio stations alongside customizable personal stations are included in the apps besides providing the subscribers with the facility to preview and purchase music directly from their handsets. They can also create and manage playlists, search for tracks according to lyrics and access artist bios.
The cost of the AT&T Music will be $6.99 per month to subscribers on unlimited data plans and it will be launched on the LG Xenon, Samsung Solstice and Samsung Impression. The initial content partners of AT&T include Sony Music Entertainment, EMI Music and indie music distributor, with additional deals slated to follow.
Vodafone’s DRM-free music service a hit
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: After attracting almost half-a-million paying subscribers to its DRM-free services since March 2009, Vodafone has claimed to rule Europe’s mobile music market. The clear pricing policy of the carrier has been credited behind the subscription of 450,000 users for its music services.
A monthly bundle allowing the users to download 10 tracks, or a variety of all-you-can-eat packages has been provided to the subscribers. Some 100,000 subscribers have signed up in December alone in Vodafone’s eight key European markets Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and the UK.
The company has signed deals with Sony Music Entertainment, EMI Music, and Universal Music, to provide DRM-free MP3 content.
Sprint Music Store Turns One
Sprint Nextel announced its Sprint Music Store has handled 8 million song downloads during its first year of service. The over-the-air (OTA) download music service was created in partnership with Groove Mobile and made its debut in October 2005.
The Sprint Music Store enables customers to browse, preview and purchase full-track songs over the air (OTA), which the carrier says was the first service of its kind to hit the wireless market. Each song purchased gives customers access to two copies of the song one for their wireless phone and another for their PC, which enables songs to be burned to a CD if desired.
Sprint offers a catalog that encompasses more than 500,000 songs. Several music labels are connected to the service, including EMI Music, Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group and Universal Music Group.
The Music Store reached 1 million downloads in mid-February and 2 million in April.
Sprint is the third largest wireless carrier in the United States, with 51.9 million customers. Cingular Wireless and Verizon Wireless hold the No. 1 and No. 2 spots, respectively. The Sprint Music Store was created in partnership with Groove Mobile.
Sprint is not the only carrier generating mobile music service news today. Cingular Wireless reportedly is gearing up to launch a music service of its own designed specifically for its wireless customers, according to The Wall Street Journal. The paper reports that the carrier will leverage the online music services from Yahoo! and Napster. Cingular declined to comment on the report.
Source- wirelessweek Wireless Mobile Telecom
