Seemingly feeling the heat from Spotify, MOG launched a free version of its music streaming service on Thursday. Rdio says it plans to do the same "soon."
ZoomThursday MOG launched a free version of its music subscription service featuring a FreePlay "tank" that users can fill simply by exploring MOG, listening to music and sharing with friends. The new service will be completely ad-free for the first 60 days so that "fans can get a taste of the service without any distractions.""The FreePlay tank showcases how much free music a user has along with 'earn music' and 'upgrade' links that provide listeners the opportunity to earn more music, or upgrade to MOG Primo, a subscription plan that includes unlimited, ad-free music, and access to MOG via mobile devices, consumer electronic and streaming entertainment devices, and soon, the car," the company said Wednesday.
In addition to the free service, MOG rolled out an HTML5-based web application that features integration with Facebook for personalized recommendations. Those who sign in with Facebook Connect will see music recommendations based on both personal listening habits and the "likes" of a listener and their friends.
As with many other music streaming services, MOG also offers a $4.99 monthly plan that grants access to its library by way of web players, a desktop cleint for Mac OS and other devices like internet connected TVs and Blu-ray players. The $9.99 monthly "Primo" service adds support for streaming music to mobile devices.
In addition to MOG's launch on Thursday, competing music service Rdio revealed its plans to join the free digital music bandwagon. Chief executive Drew Larner said in an interview that the free version would launch "soon," and wouldn't plague users with ads like MOG's just-launched FreePlay.
Larner was also vague about how much free music users would receive, following both MOG and Spotify's stance against revealing actual amounts. A spokesperson told the LA Times that the amount would be "robust," but that the company is refraining from announcing limits so that users will explore the service to see what will cough up the extra music.
"We’ve always acknowledged [that] free is probably is the most powerful way to get people in the door," Larner said. "The challenge is to do it in a way that makes economic sense."
Launched on July 14, Spotify's free service comes with ads, but the music is unlimited for now. According to reports, users of the free service will have a monthly limit of 10 hours of music listening and five plays of the same song once the six-month introductory period comes to an end.
No comments:
Post a Comment