Sony announced a new music streaming service for users of its consumer devices. The Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity service will be available first in the UK and Ireland, offering users access to around 6 million songs from major labels including Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group and EMI Music as well as independent labels and major publishers worldwide. Users can play the music on Sony internet-connected devices, including 2010 models of Bravia connected TVs, Blu-ray players, the PlayStation 3 and Vaio and other PCs. Two subscriptions are available: a basic plan for GBP 3.99/EUR 3.99 per month or a premium plan at GBP 9.99/EUR 9.99. Sony said the service will launch later on its portable devices, as well as on Android-based mobile devices and other portable devices. The service will start in 2011 in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, New Zealand and the US. This is the second in Sony's range of Qriocity services, after the launch of a video-on-demand service under the same name in the US and select European markets earlier this year. Sony said it will offer a single ID log-in and wallet for managing all of the Qriocity services. The music service is offered in partnership with Omnifone, which is coordinating content licensing as well as development and delivery of the service. The ad-free service will allow users to sync existing music files and playlists from other media players including iTunes, with playback on Qriocity of any DRM-free music licensed for the Sony service.
