Sony Corporation of America or SCA, has announced they will provide a secure download service in the spring. Just like Apple with iPod, Sony also has a customer base carrying around their hardware, such as the Walkman, ATRAC CD Walkman players, etc. In all, more than 2.5 million people are already listening to a Sony portable device of some kind.
Forming a subsidiary called Sony Connect Inc., headed by Jay Samit, General Manager, Sony Connect Inc., will manage day-to-day operations of the Connect service under the SCA umbrella. The new branch will work closely with all of Sony's U.S. operating companies, and will be based in Santa Monica, California.
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"Sony is committed to creating entertainment services where digital content can be securely distributed and enjoyed," said Robert S. Wiesenthal, Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer, Sony Broadband Entertainment. "The Connect music service is an important component of Sony's overall digital strategy in the United States." |
The service will come to market in phases involving several limited test trials.The first official public offering will be sometime in the spring with updated software to be offered in summer. This is to ensure a better software to hardware "flexability" and tight integration with Sony products. They continue to evolve the service to better mesh with other manufaturers hardware as well. Smart move.
With 500,000 tracks from the major music companies and many independent labels. As usual, content can be browsed by artist, title or genre. However, the Connect service will also feature special content not available on any other music site. Singles will be available for 99 cents, and entire albums can be downloaded for $9.95. The Connect service will not have a subscription fee.
The service will feature ATRAC3 audio compression compression, compressed to 132 kbps, allowing consumers to store audio on CD recordable, MD, Hi-MD or Memory Stick media.
Source: Music Industry News
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