Virgin Media launches stream + download music service

Jake Widman
Tuesday, 16 June 2009 02:39

Business IT - Technology

UK broadband, TV, phone, and wireless provider Virgin Media has announced a deal with Universal Music that would permit customers to both stream and download as much music as they wanted for a single subscription price.
The new service, modestly described by Virgin as "a ground-breaking digital music service designed to bring about a rapid and permanent change in the way UK consumers buy and listen to music," will marry the two most common digital music business models in a new way.

Existing services tend to take one of two forms: subscription services (Rhapsody , Napster) let you stream or download as much music as you want for a single monthly fee, but you don't get to keep the music if you cancel your subscription.

And music stores (iTunes, Amazon) let you keep the tracks you buy, but you have to pay for each track you download.

Other companies have tried hybrid models -- eMusic, for example, charges a monthly "subscription" fee that entitles you to download and keep a certain number of tracks -- but the Virgin model seems to be the first true "all you can eat" service.

According to the announcement, a subscription will enable Virgin Media broadband customers to stream and download as many tracks as they want, keep anything they download, and transfer songs to any MP3-compatible device.

Virgin is looking to sign up other music labels by the time of the service's launch later this year.

Such a service -- unlimited, DRM-free downloads -- obviously carries with it the risk of piracy.

For how Virgin and Universal intend to address that, see Page 2.