Sony BMG is reportedly working on its own digital music subscription service according to a German newspaper that chatted with CEO Rolf Schmidt-Holtz. Similar to services like Napster and Rhapsody, the service would charge users a monthly subscription fee to listen to Sony BMG’s catalog.
This isn’t the first we’ve heard of the record labels ambitions to launch their own digital music services and eliminate the middle-man – in October, rumors surfaced that Universal and Warner (along with Sony BMG) were working on their own venture called Total Music. According to Schmidt-Holtz, the Sony BMG offering would allow consumers to use their existing digital players to listen to music, including iPods.
This news comes as Apple is reportedly considering offering a new business model of its own, where consumers pay more for their iPods up-front, but can listen to unlimited music. Additionally, we may see MySpace announce their own digital music store plans as soon as next week according to a report that surfaced yesterday.
So long as music will work across devices, it’s good to see real competition beginning to emerge in the digital music download space. From free ad-supported streaming on imeem and Last.fm to DRM-free MP3s at Amazon, the industry now seems committed to keeping Apple on their toes, which should be a good thing for all of us regardless of how you prefer to consume music.
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