Music Ally

It was expected to launch by the end of 2009, but Virgin Media’s hybrid streaming and downloads music service will now not launch until the Summer, according to Marketing Magazine.

It puts a name to the service: MusicFish, and says a July launch is most likely. However, what’s missing is any firm information about whether the planned top tier offering unlimited downloads is still part of the service, or has been scrapped due to resistance from the major labels (apart from UMG, which backed it at the original announcement).

Virgin’s spokesman says merely that it’s “making good progress” with the service – a line that’s been stuck to rigorously for months now.

2009 has seen the rise of streaming services Spotify and Pandora (and the fall of several of their rivals); governments grappling with anti-piracy legislation; The Pirate Bay trial – and then its tragicomic sale saga; and hundreds of bright-eyed music start-ups and thousands of iPhone apps. And STILL no Yellow Submarine iPod.

We rounded up the key trends from the year for our final Music Ally Report of 2009, and the article is republished below in full. If you’re interested in our service in 2010, with its daily bulletin and fortnightly analytical report, click here for a free trial.

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UK firm Detica has a new tool called CView which claims to be able to dig into ISP traffic data to measure how much illegal file-sharing is going on – without identifying individuals or storing their data. So it’s about measuring whether the level of piracy is going down, rather than enabling ISPs to identify individual pirates.

“The Digital Britain report set out some bold targets to reduce illegal file sharing on ISP networks, but until now measuring the extent of the problem has been based on conflicting consumer surveys and speculation,” says Detica director of media Andy Frost.

“We hope the launch of Detica CViewTM will pave the way for stronger collaboration between ISPs and the media industry, by enabling all parties to more accurately measure the success of shared initiatives, reduce digital piracy and provide an unparalleled level of accuracy.”

There’s bound to be cynicism around whether this can really work as well as Detica claims, so it’s one to watch.

UPDATE: We forgot the number one rule of journalism: headlines ending in a question mark can usually be answered by ‘No’. Ah well.

This is pure, rampant speculation on our part, but we’d like to think it’s educated. Check this agenda for the Telco 2.0 conference today in London. The first session focuses on Media 2.0 – what do you notice about the speakers?

Okay, yes, it’s another chance for UK Music boss Feargal Sharkey to butt heads with media futurist Gerd Leonhard – sparks flew between the pair when they were on the same panel at MidemNet earlier this year. But what’s more interesting is the presence of Virgin Media’s broadband boss Jon James, and Universal Music Group’s VP of digital Francis Keeling.

Nothing surprising in that – they’re working together on a new music service after all. But that’s the thing – sources have suggested to Music Ally that this morning’s session will see Virgin Media and UMG announce final details of what form the service will take, and when it will launch. We (and investors, more pertinently) would expect some kind of formal announcement before anything is unveiled, and at the time of writing there’s nothing up on Virgin Media’s online press office or investor centre.

Still, the session kicks off at 9am, so there’s still time. If Virgin and UMG are talking details, it will be interesting to see if the mooted unlimited 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 – naturally we’ll keep you updated on here.

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”.

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Virgin Media’s unlimited digital music service, which was announced earlier today, uniquely contains both a carrot and a stick for music fans. The carrot is unlimited MP3 downloads, while the stick is the threat of temporary internet suspensions for illegal downloaders.

Users will pay a monthly subscription fee for the service, and although details weren’t announced today, Virgin Media and launch partner Universal Music Group have confirmed to Music Ally that it will cost “less than the price of two CDs a month”.

There will also be a lower priced scheme which will allow users to download a set number of downloads each month. Both tiers will also allow unlimited streams. Virgin has confirmed that it’s already in discussions with other labels and publishers, and hopes to have as many as possible on board for a scheduled UK launch “before Christmas”.

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The UK’s minister for communications, technology and broadcasting, Stephen Carter, has welcomed the announcement of Virgin Media and UMG’s unlimited streaming and downloads music service.

“Government has a role in creating the right legal and regulatory framework for rights and copyright,” says Carter. “However, the market will flourish through innovative commercial agreements between companies, and agreements such as this will help significantly in reducing any demand for piracy.”

The announcement comes a day before the expected publication of Carter’s Digital Britain report, which includes in its focus questions of how to fight online piracy while fostering legal music services. So it’s good (and presumably un-coincidental) timing on Virgin’s part.

Meanwhile, BSkyB is also expected to launch its own music service in the coming weeks, offering a combination of streaming and downloads (although not the unlimited model touted by Virgin). Interestingly, UMG was also the first major partner for that service.

Okay, so UK ISP Virgin Media and Universal Music Group have teamed up for an unlimited streaming and downloads music service, as we just reported. But what does Duffy think about it, you’re probably wondering to yourself?

“When I was growing up, the nearest record shop was two hours away, which made it tricky to get any music at all. So something like this would have been great,” she says, quoted in the announcement of the new service.

Other UMG artists speaking out in favour of the new service include Ronan Keating – “Virgin Media’s new service is a great way to legally access lots of great music” – and the Sugababes: “We know our fans want to do the right thing. Now they can.”

Oh, and James Morrison too: “I like to think that people are honest by nature, and making it easier for them to get lots of music, all legally, can only be a good thing. There should be something special about buying a great piece of music, a bit of magic that comes with discovery”

So there you have it.

UK ISP Virgin Media has teamed up with Universal Music Group for its long-awaited unlimited music service, which has been announced today but won’t launch until later in the year. However, alongside it, Virgin is committing itself to “temporary” suspension of internet access for persistent file-sharers using its network.

Users will be able to stream AND download as many music tracks and albums as they want from UMG’s entire catalogue, paying a monthly subscription fee. The fee itself hasn’t been announced. The announcement says “Downloaded music will be theirs to keep permanently” in MP3 format, although it’s unclear whether that means a certain number of tracks can be kept every month, or everything someone’s downloaded.

There will also be an “entry level” service, presumably cheaper, which won’t be unlimited. Virgin Media says it’s negotiating with other major and independent music labels and publishers in the UK to ensure it can offer a full catalogue at launch.

It’s a big carrot, but is there a stick? Possibly: check the wording in the press release:

“In parallel, the two companies will be working together to protect Universal Music’s intellectual property and drive a material reduction in the unauthorised distribution of its repertoire across Virgin Media’s network. This will involve implementing a range of different strategies to educate file sharers about online piracy and to raise awareness of legal alternatives. They include, as a last resort for persistent offenders, a temporary suspension of internet access. No customers will be permanently disconnected and the process will not depend on network monitoring or interception of customer traffic by Virgin Media.”

Virgin Media CEO Neil Berkett has talked up the new service: “In terms of both convenience and value, our new music service will be superior to anything that’s available online today and provides a fair deal for both consumers and artists. There is no better example of Virgin Media’s commitment to harnessing digital technology to give customers what they want, when they want and how they want.”

Meanwhile, UMG chairman and chief executive Lucian Grainge is equally buoyant: “Britain has a world-class reputation for artists and music. Now British consumers will have access to a world-class digital music service. I believe this puts all of us at the forefront of a new era.”

The UK minister for communications, technology and broadcasting, Stephen Carter, has also welcomed the announcement, as have a bunch of UMG artists including Ronan Keating, the Sugababes, Duffy and James Morrison.

A couple of the Music Ally team are Virgin Media customers, and we just got letters talking about some of the telco’s new services – which seemingly include a cloud-based music storage service called My Stuff, which also includes photos.

“You’ll never need to worry about losing your favourite photos or your entire music collection again,” says the letter. “Once it’s online, you can securely access it from any computer, anywhere.”

It’ll be one of the first times a big ISP has launched such a service, so we’re intrigued to see how they’ve sorted the copyright / legal issues around this kind of thing. US locker service MP3tunes has faced lawsuits over its locker service, but Virgin is presumably working with labels on its offering to ensure it escapes such legal headaches.

Meanwhile, Virgin has announced the appointment of Richard Wheeler to its new role of head of music, in charge of developing the telco’s music strategy across mobile, TV and online. He joins from mobile operator Orange, where he was head of music and film partnerships.