HP and major labels open online music service for Europe

Owners of new HP computers may soon be able to access as much music as they want. The world largest manufacturer of personal computers has struck a deal with the four major music labels and Omnifone, a British firm specialised in online music distribution.

The service, called MusicStation, promises to offer unlimited downloads for a fixed price of 8,99 Pound or 9,99 Euros and will be accessible in most countries in Western Europe, as long as users have a new HP laptop or PC. The service has been pre-installed on 16 new models of HP computers.

Musicstation subscribers can download songs that can be shared amongst one’s devices. These songs are accessible as long as the subscription lasts. In addition to this “leasing” of access, one may download ten DRM-free songs each month that will truly become the user’s property.

"We look forward to extending our partnership onto even more PCs and territories, to ensure consumers have the ability to gain legitimate access to the world's music on every HP PC they purchase," said Omnifone’s CEO, Rob Lewis.

It is a shame, however, that the service will only be accessible from HP computers. Let’s hope, however, that it’s a sign that good online music services will become commonplace in Europe, too.

Omnifone boldly suggests that MusicStation will be a serious competitor to Apple’s iTunes Store. iTunes had a 4,2 billion dollar turnover last year, being the world’s biggest online distributor of music. MusicStation aims to lure customers away by offering HP users access to a database with 6,5 million songs from the catalogues of Warner, Sony, EMI and Universal. HP is the global leader in PC sales, having a market share of 20%.

Offering music services is not new to HP. In the USA, it offers a similar service in cooperation with Rhapsody.

28-01-2010