Sony Slashes Music Unlimited Price - Temporarily - The UpStream

Sony Slashes Music Unlimited Price - Temporarily

posted Saturday Dec 1, 2012 by Scott Ertz

Sony Slashes Music Unlimited Price - Temporarily

We've talked a lot about the ever-growing streaming music industry, with Spotify getting funding and Xbox Music's launch, and there is a lot going on. One brand that tends to be left behind is Sony Entertainment Network's (formerly Qriocity) Music Unlimited service.

Because of this seemingly constant oversight, Sony has decided to compete on price with Microsoft, offering a 1-year subscription for $12 to PlayStation Plus members. The service, like Xbox Music, normally costs $9.99 per month, but this promotion drops that price 90%. If you are not a Plus member, you can still sign up discounted, with a 50% discount. This is definitely not a bad deal either way, considering the broad range of platforms the service is available on: PlayStation (3, Portanle, Vita), Windows, Mac, iOS and Android. The difference is in the content.

While Xbox Music, currently the most populated of the on-demand streaming services, has over 38 million tracks available, Music Unlimited only offers 18 million. 18 million sure sounds like a lot, but that is still less than half of the Xbox Music offerings. On the other hand, Xbox Music is currently only available on Microsoft platforms - Windows 8, Windows Phone 8 and Xbox 360, while Music Unlimited is available on non-Microsoft platforms. If you aren't a big Microsoft user, it seems like a no-brainer.

My concern here is that Sony is undervaluing its product. They have proven time and again that they are not able to successfully implement the WalMart loss-leader concept - lose money up-front, while retaining customers long-term to turn a profit. They have, year-after-year, continued to lose money on the PlayStation brand despite believing losing money on the console initially would pay off Nintendo-style.

If you are a PlayStation exclusive user, especially a Plus member, I think it is worth the money to give it a shot. If you sign up, or are already a member, let us know about your experiences in the comments section.

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