|
|
Yahoo
acquired digital music website operator Launch Media for
$12M in cash on June 2001. The company has been renamed
Yahoo Music, however the radio division still keeps its
identity under theYahoo
Launch Launchcast Radio name.
Yahoo wants to showcase all its music products and services
under a single brand, the company said. The service already
has begun operating with a new logo. Yahoo
Music offers streaming audio, music
videos, Internet radio and news covering various genres
of music.
The
company recently formed Yahoo Media Group, putting together
several Yahoo properties, including games, news, sports,
finance, movies, and music services Yahoo Launch
and Musicmatch. Yahoos Launchcast radio services was the
highest-rated Webcasting service online in January 2005,
according to ratings firm Arbitron and ComScore Media
Metrix, attracting more than 2.2 million people that month.
However, Apple's dominance has been challenged by other
giants, ranging from Sony to Microsoft, without substantially
decreasing the iPod maker's market share, even though
iTunes has sold over 400 million legal downloads by (March
2005) since its launch.
Search
engine Yahoo! is getting into the subscription music download
business, coming out of the gate with a pricing plan to
challenge much of the competition.
Yahoo!
Music Unlimited, debuted on May 11, 2005, allowing users
to choose from more than one million songs, share tracks
using Yahoo! Messenger LaunchCast radio and transfer songs
to portable devices for the introductory price of $4.99
a month for an annual subscription, or $6.99 per month
a la carte. The
price undercuts similar services from Rhapsody and Napster,
which charge close to $10 a month, or up to $15 for the
ability to transfer songs to portables.
The
service allows users to browse and listen to their friends'
music collections and view playlists using Yahoo! Messenger,
as well as build personalized music libraries and buy
discounted permanent downloads at $0.79 per song. Those
downloads can be burned onto CDs, transferred to portable
devices or shared on up to five PCs. Subscribers —
who can access their account from any computer with an
Internet connection — also get a premium version
of Yahoo!'s Internet radio service, LAUNCHcast,
featuring over 150 commercial-free Internet stations."
From premium radio to an entirely on-demand experience,
Yahoo! Music Unlimited goal is to assemble all the key
elements to fulfill all music consumers' needs.
Yahoo!
Music Unlimited features include:
-
Yahoo
Music Engine: Yahoo! Music Unlimited comes with
a free music management application, the Yahoo! Music
Engine, which lets consumers rip, mix and burn CDs, import
and manage music, and transfer music to portable devices.
-
Large
Music Library: Yahoo! Music Unlimited offers
a continuously growing online catalog of music composed
of more than one million songs, encoded in the highest
audio quality (192 kbs) from all major record labels as
well as most independent labels.
-
Yahoo!®
Messenger Integration: Extending the long tradition
of Yahoo! Music's community-based music experience, Yahoo!
Music Unlimited makes it easy for consumers to share and
discover music among an online community of friends. Integrated
with Yahoo! Messenger, the service provides the unique
ability for subscribers to browse and listen to friends'
subscription music collections and playlists. (1)
-
Personalization
& Community:
Leveraging the more than three billion song, artist and
album ratings of Yahoo! Music fans, Yahoo! Music Unlimited
will generate personalized homepages and recommendations
based on perceived tastes and subscriber community ratings.
As users rate more songs and add to their digital collection
by importing music from CDs, downloads, etc., subscribers
discover new music through recommendations made by other
Yahoo! members who have similar music tastes.
-
Music
Portability: Yahoo! Music Unlimited uses the
WMA format and Windows Media Digital Rights Management
10 (WM DRM 10). This support enables subscription tracks
to be transferred to any portable device that supports
WM DRM 10.
Instant Playlists: Members seeking music similar to a
particular artist or genre can generate instant playlists
of dozens of comparable tracks and store them in their
personal music library. Instant playlists are a convenient
way to discover new music; organize tracks for special
occasions such as roadtrips, workouts or dinners-for-two;
as well as transfer multiple files to portable devices.
-
LAUNCHcast
Integration: Yahoo! Music Unlimited subscribers
automatically receive a premium version of LAUNCHcast,
the leading Internet radio service. This version of LAUNCHcast
offers more than 150 pre-programmed stations, no commercial
interruptions, unlimited song skipping, premium audio
quality and exclusive genre and artist stations.
-
Access
From Any PC: Using their Yahoo! ID, members can
access their personalized subscription content from any
Internet-connected computer.
-
Download
Purchases: The Yahoo! Music Engine provides access
to a music download store, allowing users to purchase
and permanently own songs for $0.99 per track. Subscribers
to Yahoo! Music Unlimited are offered downloads at a discounted
rate of $0.79 per song. Downloads purchased through Yahoo!
Music Unlimited can be burned onto CDs, transferred to
compatible portable devices, and used on a total of five
PCs.
Yahoo!
Music will continue to offer Musicmatch's Jukebox 10 music
management and On Demand subscription services. Effective
today, Musicmatch On Demand pricing will be lowered to $6.99
monthly, $5.99 quarterly and $4.99 annually for subscribers.
Yahoo! Music intends to eventually combine Musicmatch's
offerings with Yahoo! Music Unlimited to create the industry's
best end-to-end suite of music services.
Pricing
and Availability
Yahoo!
Music Unlimited can be accessed by downloading the free
Yahoo! Music Engine music management software from http://music.yahoo.com.
Yahoo! Music Unlimited is available for an introductory
annual fee of $59.88 or monthly subscription of $6.99.
To get started Yahoo! is also offering a 7-day free trial
to consumers. At present, the Yahoo! Music Unlimited service
is only available to users within the United States.
About
Yahoo! Music
Yahoo!
Music (http://music.yahoo.com) offers users one of the
most comprehensive music-related content, features and
information available online. Yahoo! Music provides a
wide selection of streaming audio, the Web's largest collection
of music videos, Internet radio, exclusive artist features
and music news covering all genres of music to Yahoo!
visitors. Yahoo! is also home to Musicmatch, which offers
music software and services to help users manage, enjoy
and buy music that best matches their unique tastes. Yahoo!
Inc. is regarded the No. 1 Internet brand globally and
the most trafficked Internet destination worldwide. Yahoo!
provides online products and services essential to consumers'
lives, and offers a full range of tools and marketing
solutions for businesses to connect with Internet users
around the world. Yahoo! is headquartered in Sunnyvale,
Calif.
News
& External Site Reviews
| |
