Sky launches its Sky Songs music download service this week, a streaming service intended to rival iTunes, Napster and Spotify.
The company has signed up all four major record labels (EMI, Sony, Warners and Universal), as well as several independent record labels and distributors to provide new and older releases, though major player Universal has not yet committed to the service.
Sky Songs is due to launch on 19th October and will charge a monthly fee, Napster-style, to download MP3 tracks and stream an unlimited number of songs.
Under the two subscription options announced so far, subscribers can either pay £6.49 per month and download either a £6.49 album or ten songs, and receive unlimited access to listen to the catalogue of over four million songs online for one month. Downloaded tracks will be DRM-free and available to keep whether or not the user later cancels their subscription to the service.
Or, for an extra pound per month, subscribers can download a £7.99 album or 15 songs, as well as receiving unlimited streaming access.
Sky Songs will be slightly cheaper than Spotify’s ads-free Premium service, which costs £10 a month, but it will have no option for free streaming, which is likely to dissuade users from signing up (only around one per cent of Spotify listeners have so far signed up for the paid version).
Andria Vidler, President, EMI Music UK & Ireland, adds: “Sky has proven expertise in running first class consumer services and we welcome their entry into the music market. The widespread adoption of DRM-free downloads has helped drive new digital music services and with Sky’s launch we have another major player who will help our artists and their music reach an ever wider audience.”
Sky Songs will be available to anyone in the UK with a broadband connection and Sky broadband customers who subscribe are eligible to receive a free downloadable album worth £6.49.
Sky Songs launches officially on 19th October at http://songs.sky.com