NEW YORK (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) –MusicNet reported a surge in usage among subscription service users serving more than 400 million plays, which includes streams and subscription downloads, in a two month period from January-February. This represents an average of 6.8 million songs played per day and more than 100 percent growth over the first two months of 2006.
According to MusicNet, the year-to-year surge in subscription play counts are a result of the following trends:
* More world class brands entering the market resulting in the number of
subscribers climbing dramatically over the last year; examples of
MusicNet's distribution partners are Yahoo, MTV, HMV, Virgin, Samsung
Electronics, iMesh, BearShare, Synacor and its affiliates, which include
Time Warner Cable and Charter, among others;
* Consumer devices entering the market — such as Samsung's widely
popular K5 media player — making portable music easier than ever to
sync with a PC and manage music files;
* Music being added to the services quicker and in larger numbers as well
as the addition of music videos; the MusicNet catalog now includes over
4 million songs and videos; and
* Stronger music programming with in-depth editorial features,
personalization features driving music discovery, and intuitive
playlist creation.
"The significant growth in subscription usage is consistent with MusicNet's prediction that subscription services would be the best and most desirable way for consumers to access music digitally," said Alan McGlade, president and CEO of MusicNet. "Consumers are experiencing the value in unlimited access to music whether they want to use it on their PC or portable device. Early signs suggest that subscription usage will continue to grow significantly this year as we add more partners and a greater diversity of more powerful devices become widely available." –Bob Grossweiner and Jane Cohen
