In partnership with Omnifone, Sony has announced "Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity," a cloud-based digital music service with six million songs, a number that will of course grow over time. The content comes from the four major labels: Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group, and EMI Music, as well as leading independent labels and major publishers worldwide.
Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity is available in the UK (£3.99 for basic and £9.99 for premium) and Ireland (€3.99 for basic and €9.99 for premium). The basic plan works as an infinite ad-free radio station with the ability to skip songs. Subscribers can listen to dozens of personalized channels, categorized by genre, era, and mood. The more you listen, the more uniquely personalized your music channels become since the service studies your listening habits, your like/dislike song ratings, and analyzes your existing music collections. The premium subscription plan lets users listen in full to every song on demand, create personal playlists of favorites, and gain access to premium Top 100 channels that are regularly updated with the latest hits.
The service lets users listen on a wide variety of Internet-connected Sony devices, including Sony's 2010 models of network-enabled BRAVIA TVs, Blu-ray players, Blu-ray home theater systems, PlayStation 3s, as well as VAIO and other personal computers. It will also become available on a wide range of Sony's portable devices, as well as on Android-based mobile devices. Users can also synchronize their existing music files and playlists from other media players to enjoy their existing music at any time across all compatible devices. Service availability will hit Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, New Zealand, and the US in 2011.
The "powered by Qriocity" refers to a series of services offered by Sony: the company debuted a premium video streaming service called "Video On Demand powered by Qriocity" in the US in April 2010 and expanded the service to France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UK in November 2010. That service lets customers rent thousands of Hollywood blockbuster movies across Sony's 2010 models of network-enabled BRAVIA TVs, Blu-ray players, and Blu-ray home theater systems.
"As we continue to expand Qriocity globally, these services 'powered by Qriocity' offer a single ID log-in and wallet solution, and empower users to easily consume content including music and video across a growing number of integrated devices," Kazuo Hirai, Sony's President of Networked Products & Services Group, said in a statement. "Seamless accessibility to content through these fresh user experiences will enrich Sony's network service offerings and continually add value to the unique aspects of Sony's network-enabled products."