Sky Launch Music Subscription Service
Despite the lack of success music subscription services have had, entrepreneurs seem to be lining up to have shot at it. We’re hearing about new subscription services every week, and none of them have a USP. They all seem to have the same business model – pay a high monthly fee for a very limited access to music.
The latest company to try their hand at it is satellite television company Sky. Sky’s plan is to charge £7.99 a month for unlimited streaming and 1 album download (or 10 songs) – downloading more songs will cost extra.
Details on the new service are sketchy, some sources say they have partnered with Universal, while others say they have struck deals with all the majors and a number of indie labels.
The problem with subscription services such as this is that consumers don’t like being restricted. £7.99 a month for one album makes little sense to me, why would one choose to be restricted to one album a month when they can go to iTunes or Amazon for the same price. And the unlimited streaming doesn’t really add any value since there are services like Spotify and we7 out there that offer that for free.
The fact that over 9 million UK households have Sky as their digital TV provider will certainly work in its favour, but in reality I think Sky’s business model is flimsy and won’t attract much attention from music lovers.
I love my Napster (which has a very similar service). I believe the consumer market may be split evenly down the middle between people who stream music on a consistent basis, and those who must have a digital copy for their iPods. A service like this obviously caters to people like me (music streamers) whom want instant access without the hassle of downloading. So to say this business model is ‘flimsy’ is an opinion based on the assumption that the ENTIRE market is interested in downloading. The key to revitalizing the music industry is giving the consumer (myself) options to satisfy our music needs.
@James Robinson
I’m a streamer myself, I use Spotify which is a free unlimited streaming service with nearly 10 million songs. It sounds like Sky only have a deal with Universal so far.
Plus with the £7.99 ($13) price you’re locked into buying something that month which maybe you don’t want. Why wouldn’t you stream your music for free then just buy the albums/songs you want from iTunes? It’s the same price but without the restrictions.
I think Spotify is gonna really stir things up when it’s released in the U.S.