Business

Yahoo and Realnetworks become partners in music downloads service
by Daniela Kuruczova

Users of Yahoo online music subscription service will be shifted to Rhapsody - according to the part of new deal between Yahoo and Realnetworks. Yahoo provides online music service Yahoo Music which allows its subscribers to download the music files to their computer. Besides music download service it offers streaming music and video, custom radio and video stations and many additional services starting at price $5.99 a month. The Realnetworks music download service Rhapsody offers similar services focused more on the music download and the subscription for one month ranges from $12.99. The shift of Yahoo Music subscribers to Rhapsody is planned sometime in the first half of this year. They playlists will be moved too and they will access it through new Rhapsody account. For limited time, the subscription rate of Yahoo users will remain the same, but at last they will have to subscribe to Rhapsody and its subscription rates in case they want to stay subscribed. Both companies believe that their partnership will help to promote their services and to get new subscribers. "This really works to make Rhapsody much more available to a much wider audience," said Sheeran, the senior vice president of Realnetworks. The partnership is probably result of Yahoo's management attempts to stop the falling profits. Last Friday Microsoft offered $44.6 billion to take over Yahoo. If Microsoft succeeds in buying Yahoo, it may case problems with Realnetworks partnership, as Microsoft and Realnetworks relationship have never been too well.

related story: http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D8UJA3DG0.htm

by Daniela Kuruczova for PocketNews (http://pocketnews.tv)

PocketNews is a new real-time news broadcaster delivering the latest and hottest news right to your pocket ! With global clients who want to be kept up to date, PocketNews is everyone's way of keeping in touch with the World.

posted by Blog TechSource @ 2:33 PM