Beats Music Launches in the U.S. on January 21st

Beats Music announced the new music streaming subscription service officially launches in the US on January 21, 2014.

Developed and led by Jimmy Iovine, Dr. Dre, Luke Wood, Trent Reznor, and Ian Rogers - Beats Music aims to address two important questions: “What should I listen to?” and “what song comes next?”

"Popular music is created in bite size pieces, one song at a time – but most people need more than four minutes to be truly satisfied," said Jimmy Iovine. "It takes a highly curated, uninterrupted sequence of songs to achieve a fulfilling music experience, where the only song as important as the song you are listening to is the song that comes next.”


At launch, all music fans are invited to a free trial of Beats Music, after which a $9.99/month subscription fee will apply. The service will be available on iOS, Android and Windows Phone as well as via the web beginning January 21st. Fans can stream their music or download to listen offline.

Music Curated Just for You
Beats Music features a vast catalog of more than 20 million fully licensed songs from all the major labels, including Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, and Warner Music Group, as well as all independent labels– managed and maintained by a team of music experts with hundreds of years of curatorial expertise. Led by radio programming vet Julie Pilat, the Beats Music genre lead curation team includes:

• Former Pitchfork Media editor-in-chief Scott Plagenhoef
• Former digital content director at XXL Carl Chery
• Veteran Detroit radio music director Suzy Cole
• Recording Academy music blogger Arjan Writes
• Former Rhino Records A&R Director Mason Williams
• Los Angeles hip-hop radio personality Fuzzy Fantabulous
• Country music writer Ken Tucker
• Former Programmer of L.A.’s hugely successful Latino 96.3, Jerry Pullés

Beats Music also features a comprehensive collection of editorialized playlists from some of the most well-respected music brands in the world, including Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, DJ Mag, Country Weekly, Hot97/Power 106, among many others.


The service says it will provide users with multiple ways to find the right song at the right time by taking advantage of key features including:
• Just For You: A personalized selection of albums and playlists delivered at least 4 times a day to each user. Selections are delivered based on users’ musical preferences, time of day, activity, and additional cultural and contextual clues.
• Right Now: A continuous playlist compiled from users’ answers to four specific questions about their location, their activity, their surroundings, and their musical preference at that moment.
• Highlights: Beats Music editorial staff-recommend playlists or albums compiled based on time of year, news, cultural milestones, and new releases worth noting.
• Find It: An enhanced browsing function that lets users seek out playlists [and individual songs] by genre, activity or curator.

Artist-Friendly
Beats Music is committed to the principle that music has real value and will be acting accordingly by paying the same royalty rate to all content owners major and indie alike, while simultaneously providing a platform for fan interaction.

AT&T Collaboration
Through an exclusive deal with AT&T, Beats Music will be available to AT&T wireless customers on a multiline account for $14.99 a month. AT&T and Beats Music make it easy for families to enjoy the music they love all under one plan. Up to five family members across 10 devices can access the Beats Music service and get their own personal music on their own personal devices.

For a limited time, only AT&T wireless customers who subscribe to the family offer of Beats Music get the first 90 days free. AT&T customers who don’t qualify for the family offer can subscribe to Beats Music Individual for $9.99/month and will receive the first 30 days free. Beats Music will also be available in AT&T stores and online at www.att.com/beatsmusic on January 24, 2014.

Target Retail Partnership
Beats Music has selected Target, one of the largest music retailers in the country, as the exclusive retail partner to curate playlists for the streaming service, and the only place to purchase prepaid Beats Music gift cards. Target will curate a varied mix of music inspired by the retailer’s rich heritage of music and entertainment offerings, as well as its spirited brand essence. Beats Music prepaid gift cards will be available only at Target in denominations of $10, $25 or $50, for guests who want to give subscriptions to friends and family. As part of the partnership, Target will offer guests a free one-month trial of Beats Music with any purchase made at the Electronics & Entertainment counter the week of Jan. 26.

More details at the link below...

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