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Website to offer music streaming in CD quality
Mark Prigg, Science and Technology Editor22 Jun 2009
A new online music subscription service could spell the end of consumers buying CDs.
Spotify, the online music streaming website which allows users to listen to tracks instantly, announced today that it will offer music in CD quality for a monthly £9.99 fee. Until now, it has offered music at relatively low quality. It is also working on software to allow users to listen via mobile phones.
Stuart Dredge, who writes for Music Ally, the digital media and online music analysis website, said: "We are increasingly going to see people use this instead of buy CDs. The music industry is also reasonably happy as it is still getting paid." Spotify will now also compete with online music stores such as Apple's iTunes store.
UK music charts bosses say they are "bound to" recognise streaming sites in listings. Official UK Charts Company said this will happen when it became "a big part of the way people consume music".YouTube, MySpace and Last.fm also allow streaming and an increasing number of people have computers plugged into their living room hi-fi.
