Rhapsody Becomes First Music Service to Offer Music from Four Major Music Companies
Warner Music Group (WMG) and Listen.com, Inc., today announced that the companies have entered into a non-exclusive licensing arrangement that will enable Listen.com to offer consumers in the U.S. on-demand access to Warner Music Group-controlled recordings through its Rhapsody(tm) digital music subscription service. Today's news makes Rhapsody the only service to offer consumers legal access to music from four of the five major music companies.
"Listen.com has created a compelling service that gives music fans what they want, access to a broad selection of music at an affordable price," said Paul Vidich, Executive Vice President, Strategic Planning and Business Development for Warner Music Group. "With Listen.com as the fourth company we have licensed for an online music subscription service, we continue to aggressively pursue a strategy of partnering with innovative companies that offer our artists and labels new ways to reach music consumers."
A wide variety of music from WMG artists will be available to consumers through Rhapsody's "All Access" catalogue, which gives music consumers unlimited on-demand access to high-quality music for $9.95 per month. The "All Access" catalogue currently offers a library of more than 90,000 tracks from many of the world's best-known artists and greatest musical talents. WMG is the fourth major music company this year to license its music for Rhapsody.
"We're thrilled that Warner Music Group's extensive catalogue of music will now be available through Rhapsody," said Sean Ryan, President and CEO of Listen.com. "Today's news gives consumers access to an incredible library of legal on-demand music, and ensures that our distribution partners can offer their customers the most attractive, easy-to-use and engaging online music offering."
Today's news comes weeks after Listen.com signed similar agreements to offer music from BMG, EMI Recorded Music, and Sony Music Entertainment through Rhapsody. In addition, Listen.com has signed licensing agreements with 46 independent music companies, including Bar/None Records, KOCH Entertainment, Matador Records, Naxos of America, and Razor & Tie Recordings.
