By Folks in Japan haven’t been particularly lucky when it comes to worldwide music streaming services as of late, but they’re not going to be graced by Sony’s Music Unlimited streaming music service.
It’s only natural for the company to release the service in their home country, and while we’re surprised it took this long we’re happy it happened eventually.
It’ll cost users ¥1,480 per month (or $18.55 / 11.82 pounds) in Japan to use the service. Users can also enjoy a 30-day free trial to see what all the fuss is about before they decide whether or not they want to pay the monthly fee for the service.
Over 10 million songs will be available from Japanese music groups such as Sony Music Entertainment Japan, Warner Music Japan, EMI Music Japan, and more.
Be sure to head to Sony’s site to get started if you’re a resident in the Land of the Rising Sun. Read on for full press details.
Music Subscription Service with All-You-Can-Listen Access to Over 10 Million(i) Songs
TOKYO, July 3, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — Sony Corporation (“Sony”) today announced the launch of the “Music Unlimited” cloud-based music subscription service in Japan. Through “Music Unlimited,” music lovers can listen to over 10 million songs managed in the cloud, across a variety of compatible Sony devices and more, at home or on the go.
Initially, the “Music Unlimited” catalogue in Japan will offer over 10 million songs from major labels including, EMI Music Japan Inc., Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc., Universal Music LLC, Warner Music Japan, as well as leading independent labels. Furthermore, the catalogue will continue to expand over time.
Service Name Launch Date Price “Music Unlimited” July 3, 2012 1,480 yen/30 days (tax included) 30 day free trial for new users(ii) The “Music Unlimited” cloud-based music subscription service matches users’ lifestyles to offer them access to music wherever and whenever(iii) across a bevy of devices. The service launched in the UK and Ireland in December 2010, and expanded to countries across North America and Europe. With the debut in Japan, “Music Unlimited” is now available in 17 countries(iv) around the globe.
Accessible across numerous Sony connected devices and more, “Music Unlimited” adapts to users’ music preferences as they continue to use the service, so users can discover new music and artists. Furthermore, the service is cloud-based allowing users to enjoy music from their playlists and My Library across all of their compatible devices without the need to transfer music files.
Through “Music Unlimited” users can easily enjoy the music they want to listen to from a plethora of preset music channels categorized by genre, era, and more, as well as “My Channels,” customized by their favorite artists. Furthermore, users can easily find select songs, albums, artists and related songs from the enormous catalogue in the cloud.
By studying users’ ‘like/dislike’ song ratings, “Music Unlimited” adapts to users’ music preferences to offer the most compatible and enjoyable songs from the cloud. Therefore, the more users use the service, the more opportunities they have to discover new songs and artists.
Furthermore, by scanning and matching their existing music files on their personal computers with the “Music Unlimited” catalog through MusicSync™, users’ music and playlists from other media players automatically appear in their “Music Unlimited” My Library for them to enjoy at any time across all compatible devices.
Users can currently enjoy the service across Android™ smartphones(v) including Xperia™, Android™ tablets(vi) including “Sony Tablet” devices, Android™ Walkman, PlayStation®3, PlayStation®Vita, VAIO and other Windows personal computers(vii), and Mac(viii). Furthermore, the service is scheduled to become compatible on 2010 and later models of network-enabled Bravia® HDTVs(ix), Sony’s Blu-ray Disc® players (BDP-S380/S480) and multichannel integrated amplifier (TA-DA5700ES) after mid-July.
“Bringing the cloud music subscription service to Japan, which is one of the largest music markets in the world, is a key step in the expansion of ‘Music Unlimited,'” said Tim Schaaff, President of Sony Network Entertainment International.
“EMI Music would like to have its music available to as many music fans as possible in a great number of formats, and is very happy to provide its music content to ‘Music Unlimited,’ the multi-device subscription/streaming service by which consumers can enjoy listening to music while benefiting from a diverse array of cool functions,” said Hitoshi Namekata, Executive Chairman & Representative Director, EMI Music Japan Inc. “We expect the service will bring discoveries of new music as well as encounters with nostalgic tracks, and hope that it will fulfill a valuable service for the music market.”
“We are excited to be able to deliver our music through this new ‘Music Unlimited’ service,” said Naoki Kitagawa, CEO, Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc. “Innovative technologies have changed and diversified people’s lifestyles as well as the way they enjoy music. We hope that even more people can enjoy our music in novel ways through new offerings like ‘Music Unlimited.'”
“‘Music Unlimited’ heralds a new era for the music industry in Japan,” said Kazuhiko Koike, President and CEO, Universal Music LLC. “This service creates opportunities for customers to discover new music wherever they are in the world, and we are delighted to offer listeners access to our great music library.”
“I am thrilled about the launch of ‘Music Unlimited’ here in Japan and also very excited that now we can deliver more of Warner Music’s Beautiful and POP repertoires to music fans through a variety of devices,” said Kei Ishizaka, Representative Director, Chairman & CEO, Warner Music Japan Inc. “I strongly believe that music subscription service which is rapidly growing in overseas, will bring us another opportunity to expand digital business even more here in Japan.”
Key Features of “Music Unlimited”
1. A variety of preset music channels
Users can enjoy 57 music channels categorized by genre, era, Premium channels with various Top 100 channels, as well as mood (“Relax,” “Morning,” and more) based on SensMe™, Sony’s proprietary 12 Tone Analysis technology(x) to evaluate music tracks. Furthermore, users can use My Channel to create artist-inspired channels to enjoy music from that artist and other similar artists.2. Personalization
By studying users’ ‘like/dislike’ song ratings, “Music Unlimited” adapts to users’ music preferences to offer the most compatible and enjoyable songs from the cloud. Therefore, the more users use the service, the more opportunities they have to discover new songs and artists.3. Synchronized music experience across all devices
Users can easily build their My Library and create playlists with their favorite music which can be enjoyed across all compatible devices without the need to transfer music files.4. Offline playback
In addition to online streaming, users can also listen to their playlists and music channels(xi) in subways or airplanes where they cannot access the network, through offline playback(xii) on their PlayStation®Vita, Android™ smartphones including Xperia™, and Android™ Walkman.5. Music Sync
Furthermore, by scanning and matching their existing music files on their personal computers with the “Music Unlimited” catalog through MusicSync™, users’ music and playlists from other media players including iTunes® automatically appear in their “Music Unlimited” My Library for them to enjoy at any time across all compatible devices.About Sony Entertainment Network
“Sony Entertainment Network” is the ultimate destination for digital music, movies, games, personal content and more. All through the convenience of a single account, Sony Entertainment Network is a global comprehensive network platform that allows users to enjoy Sony’s first-party services including “Music Unlimited,” “Video Unlimited,” “PlayMemories Online,” and PlayStation®Network services across a growing ecosystem of Sony and non-Sony devices.Omnifone, which provides its award-winning platform services to develop and deliver the “Music Unlimited” service across a range of device platforms, worked with Sony to license the service with music rights holders in Japan and around the world.
- Bravia®, Walkman®, VAIO®, “Sony Tablet,” “Sony Entertainment Network,””PlayMemories Online,” the “Music Unlimited” logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sony Corporation
- PlayStation® is a registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
- “Xperia” and “SenseMe™ are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sony Mobile Communications AB
- Android™ is a trademark of Google Inc.
- Mac is a registered trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries
- Blu-ray® is a registered trademark of the Blu-ray Disc Association
- Official “Sony Entertainment Network”：https://music.sonyentertainmentnetwork.com/
- “Music Unlimited” service site：sony.jp/music-unlimited/
(i) As of July 2012. Catalog initially contains mainly international and some Japanese music (ii) Details of 30 day free trial: https://music.sonyentertainmentnetwork.com/ Users must have a Sony Entertainment Network account and register a credit card to start their free 30 day trial.
(iii) Users must be in a network environment to stream music (iv) 17 serviced markets in order of launch: UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, US, Australia, New Zealand, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Canada, Belgium, Netherlands, Japan (v) Android smartphones equipped with Android 2.1 and above (vi) Android tablets equipped with Android 3.0 and above (vii) Any web-connected PC equipped with Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7 running the latest Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari or Chrome browser; No software installation required (viii) Mac equipped with OS 10.5 and above (ix) Excluding HX80R and EX30R series models (x) http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/technology/technology/theme/12tonealalysis_01.html (xi) Music channels are available for offline playback only on PlayStation®Vita (xii) Users are first required to cache playlist and channels in a network environment Source: PR Newswire (http://s.tt/1gHrO)
Hopefully if they bring this type of thing over here straight from the music comapnies themselves they do what pandora and slacker do let us stream for free but with ads and only a limited number of skips and then they can have people pay to get rid of ads and have unlimited skips and be able to stream they songs on the spot that they want to hear. This is the type of thing that needs to be done this technology based world and not that crippled stuff from the past they need to brace our way of life not force us into the old ways.
For those of you who like Japanese music check out my channel: http://www.youtube.com/ch3azychannel
I have playlists separating genres and also a playlist for people learning Japanese, so you have a full immersing experience.