Following reports back in April that Telstra has designs to enter the streaming music market, the telecommunications behemoth has taken the first shot across the bow at music streaming pioneer Spotify by officially launching a rival service here in Australia in partnership with MOG from the United States.
The service, also called MOG, gives Australians access to a massive catalogue of Australian and international music, with the library boasting an impressive 16 million tracks, similar with that of Spotify here in Australia.
The partnership between MOG and Telstra will allow it to deliver music at a higher-quality than that of Spotify, at 320kbps, and is now available on compatible PCs, digital music players, Apple and Android smartphones, tablets, and Sonos wireless HiFi systems.
MOG is available to all Australians, starting with a two-week free trial and regardless of their ISP or phone provider, with Telstra customers receiving the extra benefit of no data charges.
The basic package after the trail begins at $6.99 per month for access only on your PC, or $11.99 per month for access on tablets and mobile devices. MOG will not be offering a free ad-supported version like Spotify.
“The way we listen to music has changed enormously over the course of my life,” said ARIA Award winner and MOG ambassador Clare Bowditch. “From single CD’s on the CD Walkman – remember how frustrating it was trying to actually walk with them? – to online music subscription services like MOG.”
“I am always on the hunt not only for new artists but also for hard-to-come-by rarities. MOG lets me do both of those things really easily, right from my smart phone” Clare said.
“One feature of MOG that I am especially enjoying is MOG Radio. It allows me to look up an old time artist like Lil Armstrong, whose music I’ve struggled to find elsewhere, and then, get suggestions about similar artists that other listeners have discovered, based on their own musical tastes.”
“So a Lil Armstrong fan may lead me to Lanie Lane, C.W. Stoneking or some other brilliant music-makers who you would not necessarily have heard if you were just listening to commercial radio. It’s a really simple, rather ingenious way to discover new music, and to give old songs a new life,” she said.
Clare also said she will be watching the growth of subscription music services with interest as an artist.
“There are still many questions to be answered and much to learn about the way online music subscription will affect and change how we listen to and appreciate music. At this stage, the early signs for music-makers themselves look generally positive because music subscription offers an attractive alternative to music-piracy and a new way of exposure for artists.”
“What we know without doubt from a music-lovers point of view is that we live in extremely fortunate times indeed,” she said.
Telstra Director of Digital Media and Content, Adam Good, said music subscription was all about convenience, range of choice and value for money.
“Telstra’s research also found that 50 per cent of Australians haven’t bought a CD from a record store in the last year with 75 per cent of people saying it’s due to the cost of CDs or citing constantly changing music taste as the reason.”
“Telstra’s network superiority makes a music streaming service like MOG is a game-changer. Now, for as little as $6.99 per month, customers have access to all the music they want, whether it’s Mozart one day and Madonna the next,” he added.
