Sky Songs launch imminent, but Virgin Media rival losing unlimited MP3s aspect?
EMI, Sony Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group have signed on the dotted line for BSkyB’s Sky Songs music service, which according to the Telegraph will launch this week in the UK (although Billboard says next Monday).
They join original partner Universal Music Group, with Beggars Group, PIAS and The Orchard representing indies. There will be two pricing tiers according to the FT: £6.49 a month gets you unlimited streaming and 10 tracks, while £7.99 gets you unlimited streaming and 15 tracks. Additional songs can be bought from £0.65.
“Our music partners bring an outstanding catalogue and unrivalled expertise that complements Sky’s strengths in content distribution,” says BSkyB COO Mike Darcey, while WMG’s Eric Daugan claims that the service will besides the music also offer “premium fan-oriented content”.
Sky Songs will face competition, of course, from rival ISP Virgin Media’s soon-to-launch service. However, a report on The Register suggests that its promises of unlimited MP3 downloads for top-tier subscribers may not come true.
The article claims that the service will launch WITHOUT the top-tier unlimited version, and will instead cap it at 40 MP3 downloads for £15 a month. Sony Music is fingered as the key stumbling block, refusing to fall into line behind Virgin’s original partner UMG on the unlimited aspect.
So where does this leave the promise of unlimited downloads? “We’re still working towards that goal,” says a Virgin spokesperson.
Tags: bskyb, sky songs, Virgin Media
October 12th, 2009 at 9:55 am
[...] 1 votes vote Sky Songs launch imminent, but Virgin Media rival losing unlimited MP3s aspect? EMI, Sony Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group have signed on the dotted line for [...]
October 14th, 2009 at 2:04 pm
[...] had some details earlier this week: all four major labels are on board, and the service will be available in two versions: £6.49 a [...]
November 5th, 2009 at 5:20 pm
[...] top tier of the service is still in place. Plans to offer customers unlimited MP3 downloads were reportedly dented by the unwillingness of other major labels to sign up. Anyway, all eyes on Telco 2.0 – [...]
November 25th, 2009 at 4:34 pm
They are so many LEGAL websites offering FREE LEGAL downloads of mp3 music, why would we pay for such a service?