iM Networks, a leading provider of Internet audio programming solutions for consumer electronics companies, today announced a marketing alliance with Listen.com for Rhapsody, the company’s premier digital music subscription service.
iM Networks will offer the Rhapsody service directly to iM Radio users, including those that have purchased iM Ready devices from consumer electronic manufacturers Philips, Panasonic, and Creative. iM Radio listeners will receive an introductory e-mail message with information on how to subscribe to Rhapsody, and will be offered a 30-day free trial through iM Networks. Soon, iM Networks will also make it easier for users to obtain their favorite music by integrating the Rhapsody artist database into its unified “Tell Me More” e-commerce system. Users pressing the “Tell Me More” button on their iM Ready devices will receive an e-mail message letting them know whether the song currently playing is available through Rhapsody.
“iM Networks users are passionate broadband music consumers who want to discover new music,” stated Elliot Solomon, Chief Operating Officer of iM Networks. “Our alliance with Listen.com enables us to deliver exceptional value and content to our listeners and our partners in the consumer electronics industry.”
“Listen shares iM Networks’ vision for enabling music lovers to enjoy high-fidelity digital music anywhere in the home,” stated Sean Ryan, CEO of Listen.com. “Rhapsody is a perfect complement to their family of products, offering on-demand access to one of the world’s largest libraries of digital music, delivered in the high-quality sound iM Networks customers expect.”
iM Networks enables non-PC consumer electronic devices to receive streaming, on-demand, locker-based and subscription Internet audio and video through a broadband connection, with a consumer electronics-like experience. iM Tuning is the glue between content and devices,
licensed by hardware and software manufacturers to quickly and cost-effectively add Internet radio and other audio streams to their existing products ranging from boom boxes to set-top boxes, AVRs to PVRs, and mobile devices. Devices that incorporate iM Tuning have access to “Best of Planet” Internet radio stations from around the world – hand-selected, high-quality, broadband-optimized programming that spans a full-range of genres, regions and languages. The iM Tuning infrastructure enables carriers and ISPs to deploy value-added audio and video services to their broadband consumers, increasing per-customer revenue, preserving customer loyalty and decreasing customer churn. Current partners include Philips, Panasonic, Creative Labs, Texas Instruments and Softbank Broadmedia.
From any PC with an Internet connection, Rhapsody subscribers can access more than 185,000 tracks of on-demand music, build custom radio stations with music from their favorite artists, or select one of the service’s professionally programmed Internet radio stations. Rhapsody is the only service to offer consumers legal access to music from all five of the major music companies, including BMG, EMI Recorded Music, Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group. Listen.com has also signed licensing agreements with more than 70 independent labels, including Zomba Recording Corporation, TVT Records, and Bar/None Records.
