Katie Marsal"Sony Music as I understand it has no intention of withdrawing from iTunes," Sony Network Entertainment Chief Operating Officer Shawn Layden said, according to Silicon Alley Insider. "They're one of our biggest partners in the digital domain. I think those words were either taken out of context or the person who spoke them was unclear on the circumstances."
The words Layden referred to came from an interview last week, in which Michael Ephraim, chief executive of Sony Computer Entertainment, told an Australian newspaper that he hoped his company would not need to sell music on iTunes in the future. Ephraim questioned whether Sony would need to partner with Apple to sell music through iTunes if its new Music Unlimited service, which debuted in late 2010, became successful enough.
Sony has apparently backed off its comments about iTunes as the company has just launched its "Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity" service in the U.S., Australia and New Zealand. Thursday's opening gives three new countries the opportunity to try the digital music service, which gives subscribers the ability to access a catalogue of millions of songs from major record labels including Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group and EMI music.
The Music Unlimited service allows users to play music from a variety of Internet-connected Sony devices such as Bravia TVs, Blu-ray disc players and the PlayStation 3 gaming console. The service is also available on Sony's Vaio line and other personal computers.
"As we expand 'Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity' around the globe, it signifies a paradigm shift which redefines the existing music listening experience by revolutionizing music access, discovery, integration and personalization," said Kazuo Hirai, president of Networked Products & Services Group, Sony Corporation. "Through Sony's high quality network-enabled devices, we are focused on delivering dynamic services 'powered by Qriocity' to offer global customers with compelling digital entertainment propositions."
Music Unlimited has basic plans for $3.99 U.S., $4.99 Australia, and $5.99 New Zealand. The basic plan works as an infinite ad-free radio station and allows subscribers to listen to dozens of personalized channels categorized by genre, era and mood without the need to download or manage music files.
Premium plans cost $9.99 per month U.S., $12.99 Australia and $13.99 New Zealand. It allows users to listen in full to every song on demand, create personal playlists of favorites, and gain access to premium top 100 channels which are regularly updated with the latest hits. The service also adapts to users' music preferences and constantly tailors channels to offer a compatible lineup.
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23 Comments
Only difference is when, not if. Sony would kill Apple in a heartbeat if it could.
Decided to make nice real quick like. No need to sh*t in your own nest (that is before moving out, eh).
It irritates me all to hell that the tech press seems driven by "clickthrough," not any particular mission to inform. This story from earlier this week is an example. The story meme, originally, was taken from a Sony executive who made a statement that the latest Sony music store... should it catch on (unlike the other umpteen attempts at an online Sony store, which DIDN'T catch on)... MIGHT (in a pig's eye) lead to Sony Music leaving iTunes. The meme was, "Sony will leave iTunes in retaliation for the Sony Reader app being rejected!!!! Or something, anything."
This is a stupid meme, fueled by a subtle anti-Apple "Jobs is Stalin" kind of myth, that, if you take a look at it on its face, is ridiculous. Will there be a Sony store? Well, there is already. Has been, off and on, for a long time. Nobody goes there. Nobody wants to go to "the company store" and get walled off into another Sony format, where only Sony artists are highlighted. Go to one store, iTunes or Amazon, basically, and pick from the whole range of music.
A more useful model for tech JOURNALISM would be an examination of what the deal is between publishers, newspapers, magazines, distributors and so on, in the print and digital information markets. Is Apple's desire for 30% of the price of subs really out of line? What is the overall price structure? Will this result in a flight from iTunes/the App Store? Really? And what might be behind the relatively few quotes from corporations saying the deal is unreasonable?
All the online journals, the ones that get the most clicks, are like the old "Crossfire" program CNN ran for years. A staged debate that results from a deliberately provocative statement of the "problem," because the real attraction is to see Pat Buchanan yelling at Michael Kinsley etc. Information value? None. Raw meat for the cable addict. Participation adrenaline attracts views. Heat brings you in, but there's no light there.
This is what the phrase ?cross that bridge when we come to it? was invented for.
So many of these music stores have a track record of going under and taking your music library with it. I think it will be hard to convince consumers to use a new service. It would certainly have to be DRM free and use a standard format (just like the CDROM was).