Sony Rolls Out 'Music Unlimited' in New Countries, Executive Denies Plans to Abandon iTunes
As
reported by Bloomberg, Sony today announced that it has launched its "Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity" streaming service in the United States, Australia, and New Zealand, building on debuts in a series of European countries over the past few months. The new service takes aim at Apple's iTunes Store with two tiers of service: a basic tier priced at $3.99 per month that offers music channels, similar to what Pandora currently offers for free; and a premium tier priced at $9.99 per month that offers on-demand access to the service's full catalog of over six million tracks.
Interestingly, All Things Digital notes that the new service offers no compatibility with mobile devices at launch, although Sony is working to add compatibility with Android and has an eye on bringing the service to iOS devices.
A Sony executive made waves last week with his suggestion that Sony could eventually pull its music from Apple's dominant iTunes Store if the Music Unlimited service takes off, but Business Insider reports that another executive has now refuted that idea.
But Sony Network Entertainment COO Brandon Layden says no way:
"Sony Music as I understand it has no intention of withdrawing from iTunes, 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."
Whether or not Music Unlimited ever comes to iOS devices may of course be determined by how Sony feels about Apple's new policies requiring App Store developers offering subscription content to utilize Apple's in-app subscription functionality and limit links to external purchasing methods, driving subscription traffic through Apple's channels where the company takes a 30% cut of revenue. Rhapsody, which has long offered a streaming music service similar to the premium tier of Music Unlimited, has noted that the model is "economically untenable" for such services and that it is exploring its legal and business options for responding to Apple's move.
Popular Stories
Apple released iOS 18.2 in the second week of December, bringing the second round of Apple Intelligence features to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models. This update brings several major advancements to Apple's AI integration, including completely new image generation tools and a range of Visual Intelligence-based enhancements. Apple has added a handful of new non-AI related feature controls as...
Wednesday December 18, 2024 11:39 am PST by
Juli CloverApple is no longer planning to launch a hardware subscription service that would let customers "subscribe" to get a new iPhone each year, reports Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
Gurman first shared rumors about Apple's work on a hardware subscription service back in 2022, and at the time, he said that Apple wanted to develop a simple system that would allow customers to pay a monthly fee to gain...
Contrary to recent reports, the iPhone 17 Pro will not feature a horizontal camera layout, according to the leaker known as "Instant Digital."
In a new post on Weibo, the leaker said that a source has confirmed that while the appearance of the back of the iPhone 17 Pro has indeed changed, the layout of the three cameras is "still triangular," rather than the "horizontal bar spread on the...
Wednesday December 18, 2024 10:05 am PST by
Juli CloverElevation Lab today announced the launch of TimeCapsule, an innovative and simple solution for increasing the battery life of Apple's AirTag.
Priced at $20, TimeCapsule is an AirTag enclosure that houses two AA batteries that offer 14x more battery capacity than the CR2032 battery that the AirTag runs on. It works by attaching the AirTag's upper housing to the built-in custom contact in the...
The current Apple TV 4K was released more than two years ago, so the streaming device is becoming due for a hardware upgrade soon. Fortunately, it was recently rumored that a new Apple TV will launch at some point next year.
Below, we recap rumors about the next-generation Apple TV.
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman last week reported that Apple has been working on its own combined Wi-Fi and...
Blackmagic today announced that its URSA Cine Immersive camera is now available for pre-order, with deliveries set to start late in the first quarter of 2025. Blackmagic says that this is the world's first commercial camera system designed to capture 3D content for the Vision Pro.
The URSA Cine Immersive camera was first introduced in June, but it has not been available for purchase until...
Apple launched the controversial "trashcan" Mac Pro eleven years ago today, introducing one of its most criticized designs that persisted through a period of widespread discontentment with the Mac lineup.
The redesign took the Mac Pro in an entirely new direction, spearheaded by a polished aluminum cylindrical design that became unofficially dubbed the "trashcan" in the Mac community. All of ...
Apple is planning a series of "major design" and "format changes" for iPhones over the next few years, according to The Wall Street Journal's Aaron Tilley and Yang Jie.
The paywalled report published today corroborated the widely-rumored "iPhone 17 Air" with an "ultrathin" design that is thinner than current iPhone models. The report did not mention a specific measurement, but previous...
