Look, if companies start offering any more music services, then pretty soon we’re going to need a music store store. Sony Ericsson is the latest vendor to jump aboard the soul train, launching a new subscription service, PlayNow plus, that will debut in Sweden later this year.
Sony, of course, has previously tried their hand at music services with lackluster results, but this time they’ve decided to tie in buying music with mobile service providers. They’ve signed a deal with Swedish operator Telenor where users will pay an additional monthly fee of 99 kr. (~$15) in exchange for unlimited downloads—and said downloads won’t count against customers’ data plans. Of course, as one of the big four, Sony is onboard, but they’ve also managed to get the other three to play ball as well. The deal is exclusive to Telenor now, but will expand globally next year.
A special version of Sony Ericsson W902 Walkman phone will come with 1000 songs pre-loaded, though here’s where it gets a little odd. Though the tracks are said to be DRM-free, after the first six months, the user will only get to keep the top 100 listened-to songs. Makes me wonder what quality songs they’ll be pre-loading there. If it’s all ABBA, I might have to pass.
[via Macworld]
