JB Hi-Fi says it will have between 6 and 8 million tracks from 100,000 artists when JB Hi-Fi NOW launches by the end of this year. The service will directly challenge Sony’s Qriocity Music Unlimited service, despite the fact that Sony is one of JB Hi-Fi’s biggest brands.
JB Hi-Fi CEO, Terry Smart, said “The service will allow for unlimited access and listening to music from your Mac, PC or mobile device.” The company says the mobile version for phones and tablets will arrive shortly after the initial launch.
No pricing was discussed, but it’s worth noting that Sony charges $5 a month for a basic plan that works like an ad-free radio station that lets subscribers listen to channels based around genre or mood. The premium plan, which costs $13 a month, allows users to listen to music on demand, create personal playlists and access to Top 100 channels.
JB’s news comes as it reported a 7.55 per cent decline in yearly profits. To help boost sales, they’ll also soon let you order online and pick-up in store. [Australian Stock Exchange (PDF)]
Glenn
Monday, August 8, 2011 at 12:22 PMIf they have a dedicated metal radio station I might consider it.
Otherwise, pass
RufusLives
Monday, August 8, 2011 at 12:30 PMPricing will be the kicker I guess. I am tempted by the Sony service but it is just too much for what is on offer (plus why the hell is the android app not compatible with the Xperia Play, why sony, why?.. sorry).
We definitely need more services like this in Australia, to see them at a competitive price point and to give mobile companies more incentive to offer better internet services.
Robert
Monday, August 8, 2011 at 3:39 PMWhy on earth would you want to reward a new vertical integration model? …especially when Sony also represents a publishing company.
Don’t forget, Sony/Qriocity only have 8 million tracks. I’m guessing that’s the entire Sony back catalogue plus one of the smaller two fo the ‘big four’. Do you really think that random playlists won’t heavily favor Sony’s own content?! ..even if only by virtue of the fact that there is far more of theirs than any other label’s.
It’s a great big world out there of music and electronics, locking yourself to one brand for both is far too restrictive for my liking.
ben
Monday, August 8, 2011 at 12:39 PMproblem is unless the service carries every artist that you like it is largly pointless. No one is going to suscribe to more than one service. I’d gladly stop torrent-ing if I could have maybe Spotify in Australia….
lulz
Monday, August 8, 2011 at 1:57 PMCome on MS, get Zune pass here pronto.
grey
Monday, August 8, 2011 at 2:02 PMPointless , heaps of amazing internet radio stations around ,dont waste your money !
Steve
Monday, August 8, 2011 at 4:21 PMI’d gladly stop (illegally) downloading music if there were a spotify/zune/google music+ here. Why not Sony or JB? Because they simply don’t support every artist I like.
mrnocturne
Wednesday, September 7, 2011 at 6:36 PMHey man, how do you know JB’s new service wont have a better selection of music you like than spotify/zune etc. They haven’t even launched yet. Out of curiosity…
mrnocturne
Wednesday, September 7, 2011 at 6:40 PMI say this because I happen to know that JB have secretly been in negotiations with pretty much every major label AND film studio (yes that’s right… film…) in regards to this service.
Stephen
Monday, August 8, 2011 at 7:40 PMWhy not Sony? Because it’s Sony.
Peter
Monday, August 8, 2011 at 8:19 PM+1
jamie
Tuesday, August 9, 2011 at 3:19 PMDoesn’t being able to get music on demand you can just choose the song you like and it will stream directly? Being able to do that seems really good to me, if it’s just a random playlist of a genre I like then I don’t see the point
incarnus
Friday, September 9, 2011 at 1:33 PMit is set to cost less then $100 for a years access and they have serious plans to extend it into film/ tv after music site is up and running
Drainos
Tuesday, December 6, 2011 at 11:23 PMQriocity is not bad in theory, but the search engine is terrible, or really the data. It’s lack of detail is what turns me off. Doesn’t anyone care who made the music. ITunes, Winamp, etc… use the same data source, gracenote which needs to look at it’s method of updating incorrect data. JB should pay a company to get more accurate data in their app and this would mean 10 x in users!