Wednesday, October 14, 2009

MOG Signs Deals with Big Four to Start Streaming Subscription Service...

I found an interesting article about a new online music source/store that actually offers a feature that allows you to access your music from your mobile device. MOG is a younger blogging network that raised $5 million in venture capital and has licensing deals with, the Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, the Warner Music Group and EMI Music, plus thousands of independent labels through the digital distributors Orchard and Ioda. For $5 a month, members can listen to as much music as they want from their computer; for $12 to $15, users can access music on their mobile devices as well.

MOG draws influences from other more well known music subscription services that I'm sure don't need to be mentioned. Users can listen to the songs of any artist and build a playlist with only that music. It also has the standard feature where you can automatically search for similar artists in live mode, sort of like a your own personal radio station. People can then share their playlists from their site on the MOG service.

For a blogging site to to switch gears and become a competitive music subscription service among giants like Pandora and Rhapsody (ok I mentioned them), seems like no easy task, but I must say that the idea of being able to access the service (and your song collection) from any mobile device is an incredibly attractive and unique marketing feature. I don't even use services like these, but MOG has sparked my interest. I know some people are probably feeling guilty for certain methods they may or may not use in obtaining digital music, and this seems like a cheap, convenient, and particularly cool alternative, and a great way to discover new music!

MOG‘s press release:

MOG, the Web’s premier music blogging destination, today announced that it would launch MOG All Access, an innovative new digital music service for North America, by Thanksgiving 2009. MOG also announced partnerships with all four major music labels: Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group, and EMI Music.

“Our goal with MOG All Access was to build the best service for listening to and discovering music, period,” explained MOG Founder and CEO David Hyman. “To accomplish this, we’re providing access to millions of songs (just about everything), with a drop dead easy way to hear any song or album you like in an instant, from the convenience of your web browser. You’ll get access to MOG radio, a revolutionary listening experience that will forever change how you discover music and truly redefines what radio is, and killer tools for discovery through other users of the service. And you get it all monthly for the price of a beer. We’re setting the music listening bar.”

Through partnerships with all major labels including Universal Music Group, Sony Music, Warner Music Group and EMI Music, plus thousands of independents via IODA, Beggars Group and more, MOG‘s All Access will provide unrestricted access to over 5 million tracks. MOG will be adding millions more in the coming months.

Currently in closed beta testing, the service is expected to be available by Thanksgiving 2009 and will cost $5 per month. Curious music fans will be able to sample the service for free.

Hyman explained, “For $5 a month, you can download five songs from iTunes or have access to millions of songs on demand, better radio, a world of relevant articles, reviews, news and lyrics, and a community of fellow fans and expert music sources with whom you can discover new artists, share playlists and explore music.”


-Woody Ellis

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