Sony on Wednesday launched its iTunes competitor. Dubbed Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity — not the catchiest name in the streaming-music world — the cloud-based music service offers consumers access to about six million songs from major labels.
Sony has inked licensing deals with Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, and EMI Music, as well as independent labels and major publishers around the world. Of course, Sony also has its own catalog through Sony Music Entertainment, giving it a slight advantage profitwise on digital music that carries its brand.
“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,” said Kazuo Hirai, president of Sony’s Networked Products and Services Group.
The Sonyverse
Much like Apple connects its iPod and iPhone devices to its iTunes Store, Sony is working to tie Music Unlimited to many different Sony-branded devices.
Sony says Music Unlimited users can play music on demand on a wide variety of Internet-connected Sony devices, including Sony’s 2010 models of network-enabled BRAVIA TV, Blu-ray Disc player, Blu-ray Disc Home Theater system, PlayStation 3, and VAIO and other personal computers. Sony said Music Unlimited will also become available on Sony’s portable devices, on Android-based mobile devices, and other portable devices.
The only catch so far is limited availability. Music Unlimited is currently available in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The service won’t come online for customers in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, New Zealand, and the U.S. in 2011 — but Sony didn’t say when in 2011.
Rent vs Own Debate
Will Sony succeed with its iTunes competitor?
“At the center of this is the question of whether people want to rent or own music. Apple believes that people…