Line Music

Last updated
Line Music
Original author(s) Line Corporation
Initial release22 May 2015
Operating system Launch:
iOS
Android
Later:
Windows
OS X
Platform Cross-platform
Available in Chinese
Japanese
Type Music streaming
License Proprietary
Website music.line.me

Line Music (stylized as LINE MUSIC) is a subscription-based music streaming service by Line Corporation that combines existing Line Messenger app with the entertainment system that users not only can stream the music on-demand, but users can share the music directly to Line Messenger. [1] The chairman for the Line Music division is Lim-Suk Jun. [2] The Line Music app is an alternative version of Naver VIBE in South Korea. [3] It is considered as the biggest listening app in the country.

Contents

History

Announcement

In December 2014, Line Corporation reveals their plan to expanding their Line product range beyond their messaging service Line to provide a one-stop entertainment portal where users can use Line services to consume media, in which these plan has been made in October 2014. This expansion has been announced during the Line annual event, on the same time the company also announces the introduction of online Manga service and also new game ventures, with investment of music streaming division worth ¥480 million. [4] Line Corporation, in the early stage, has signed the deals with Sony Music Japan and Avex Group to allows their works to be streamed in their services once the service has been launched. [5] [6] Following the announcement on the same month, Line Corporation acquired MixRadio from Microsoft in order to make its expansion to music industry globally. Line Corporation, however stated that the MixRadio will continue to operate separately from parent company. [7]

Launch in Thailand

Line Music was initially launched in Thailand where Thailand is the second largest Line messenger market share in the world after Japan, with 33 million registered users using this service, [8] compared to the Japanese market with 58 million registered users. [9] Line has signed deals with major labels in Thailand such as RS Music, BEC-TERO, SpicyDisc and What The Duck to allow their works to be streamed in this service. [1] [2]

On 25 August 2016, Line Thailand announced their intention to shut down and move to Line TV on 1 October 2016. [10]

Expansion to Japan

On 11 June 2015, Line Corporation launched the Line Music in Japan, [11] with new deals with major labels has been signed such as Warner Music Group, Universal Music Group and King Records. [12]

Expansion to Taiwan

On 10 July 2019, Line Corporation started to provide Line Music service in Taiwan. [13] [14]

Features

Catalogue

At the launch, Line currently has 1.5 million licensed tracks from 30 music labels and publishers worldwide. [15] But the company will expand their catalogue to 30 million licensed tracks by 2016. [12]

Integration with Line messenger

One of the main features of the Line Music is the integration with the Line Messenger where users can send the music track or playlists to friends or chat group in Line Messenger. In addition, users can stream the music simultaneously with the person the user is chatting with in order to hear the music at the same time. A user without a Line Music subscription can preview the music for up to 30 seconds only. [16]

Promotion

On 11 July 2015, Line Corporation air its first television commercial about Line Music in Japan. In this video, a girl is dancing and singing at home while listening to Carly Rae Jepsen's latest single, I Really Like You. [17] [18]

Competition

Before the launch of the Line Music in Thailand, Deezer, Rdio [19] and Tidal [20] were the only competitors in the Thai music streaming market, at the time where other major services such as Spotify are still absent in Thai market. [2]

However, unlike in Thailand, Japan did not have any major streaming services launched in their country such as Spotify, Rdio, Deezer, Xbox Music, Pandora Radio etc., with the exception of Music Unlimited by Sony Entertainment Network prior to the launch of Line Music. However the pricing for the monthly subscription of Music Unlimited was high at ¥1,480 due to Sony's monopolistic practices and also their decision to withhold their catalogues from iTunes Store until end of 2012. [21] However, after the closure of the Music Unlimited and with the Sony's announcement to replace its service with PlayStation Music which is powered by Spotify on 28 January 2015. [22] On 30 June 2015, Apple launched Apple Music worldwide, which makes it the third competitor in music streaming industry in Japan. [23] [24]

Availability

Availability of Line Music in Asia as of August 2015 Line Music countries.png
Availability of Line Music in Asia as of August 2015

Line Music is currently available in Japan, Thailand and Taiwan. [9]

Reception

The reception for the Line Music was well received by the customers in both Japan and Thailand with 6.2 million downloads within the first months of availability. [25]

Accounts and subscriptions

Line Music provides different types of accounts, vary by countries. Currently, Line Music provide free-tier account in Taiwan.

NamePriceFree of AdsListening time Bit rate [16]
20 Hours Listening (Japan only) ¥500 per month [15] Yes20 hours only per month320 kbit/s, 192 kbit/s or 64 kbit/s
Unlimited ¥1000/60฿ per month; 1-month (Thailand)/2-month (Japan) free trial [15] NTD$149 and 180
  • In Japan, students can only pay ¥300 per month with a valid student card. [15]
YesUnlimited320 kbit/s, 192 kbit/s or 64 kbit/s
Unlimited (Taiwan) NTD$149 and 180
Plan WOW 149 provides three tickets for personalized Line Ring Tone and Ring Back Tone per month; Plan WOW 180 provides unlimited tickets for personalized Line Ring Tone and Ring Back Tone.		YesUnlimited320 kbit/s or 192 kbit/s

See also

Related Research Articles

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Amazon Music is a music streaming platform and Digital music store operated by Amazon. As of January 2020, the service had 55 million subscribers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shazam (music app)</span> Music identification application

Shazam is an application that can identify music based on a short sample played using the microphone on the device. It was created by the British company Shazam Entertainment, based in London, and has been owned by Apple since 2018. The software is available for Android, macOS, iOS, Wear OS, watchOS and as a Google Chrome extension.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">JioSaavn</span> Indian music streaming service

JioSaavn is an Indian music streaming service and a digital distributor of Hindi, Marathi, English, Malayalam, Bengali, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Bhojpuri, Punjabi, Chhattisgarhi and other regional languages of India. Since it was founded in 2007 as Saavn, the company has acquired rights to over 80 million music tracks in 16 languages. JioSaavn is a freemium service; basic features are free with advertisements or limitations, while additional features, such as improved streaming quality and music downloads for offline listening, are offered via paid subscriptions.

Deezer is a French music streaming service founded in 2007. The company has been a subsidiary of Access Industries since 2016. Deezer is available via web and on various digital platforms, including Android, iOS, macOS and others.

Spotify is a Swedish audio streaming and media service provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 615 million monthly active users, including 239 million paying subscribers, as of March 2024. Spotify is listed on the New York Stock Exchange in the form of American depositary receipts.

A music streaming service is a type of streaming media service that focuses primarily on music, and sometimes other forms of digital audio content such as podcasts. These services are usually subscription-based services allowing users to stream digital copyright restricted songs on-demand from a centralized library provided by the service. Some services may offer free tiers with limitations, such as advertising and limits on use. They typically incorporate a recommender system to help users discover other songs they may enjoy based on their listening history and other factors, as well as the ability to create and share public playlists with other users.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MixRadio</span> Online music streaming service

MixRadio was an online music streaming service owned by Line Corporation. The service was first introduced by Nokia in 2011 as Nokia Music for Windows Phone, serving as a successor to Nokia's previous Nokia Music Store/Comes with Music/Ovi Music Store initiatives, which was based on the LoudEye/OD2 platform. After its acquisition of Nokia's mobile phone business, the service was briefly maintained by Microsoft Mobile Oy before it was sold to Japanese internet company Line Corporation in 2015. Following the acquisition, MixRadio expanded to Android and iOS in May 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SoundCloud</span> German audio streaming service

SoundCloud is a German audio streaming service owned and operated by SoundCloud Global Limited & Co. KG. The service enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming services in the world and is available in 190 countries and territories. The service has more than 76 million active monthly users and over 200 million audio tracks as of November 2021. SoundCloud offers both free and paid memberships on the platform, available for mobile, desktop and Xbox devices. SoundCloud has evolved from a traditional online streaming platform to an entertainment company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rdio</span> Defunct music streaming service

Rdio was an online music streaming service that offered ad-supported free streaming and ad-free subscription streaming services in 85 countries. It was available as a website and via app for Android, BlackBerry, iOS, and Windows Phone mobile devices, which could stream music from Rdio's servers or download music for offline playback; there were also clients for the Roku OS and Sonos systems. The web-based service also offered a native desktop client application for OS X and Windows, as well as a Windows Store application.

rara was a music streaming media service. It operated between December 2011 and March 2015. It offered ad-free, on-demand music streaming from a range of major and independent record labels, including Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, EMI Music and Warner Music Group, global rights agency Merlin and independent digital distributors The Orchard, INgrooves Fontana, Believe Digital, [PIAS] and VidZone Digital Media.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Groove Music</span> Microsoft audio player software application

Groove Music is a discontinued audio player software application included with Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows 10 and Windows 11.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Line (software)</span> Freeware instant communications app

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Google Play Music</span> Online music locker and streaming service, 2011–2020

Google Play Music was a music and podcast streaming service and an online music locker operated by Google as part of its Google Play line of services. The service was announced on May 10, 2011; after a six-month, invitation-only beta period, it was publicly launched on November 16, 2011, and shut down in December 2020.

The following is a list of on-demand music streaming services. These services offer streaming of full-length content via the Internet as a part of their service, without the listener necessarily having to purchase a file for download. This type of service is somewhat similar to Internet radio. Many of these sites have advertising that supports free-to-listen options as well as paid subscription-based premium options.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beats Music</span> Online music streaming service

Beats Music was a subscription-based Digital music store streaming service owned by the Beats Electronics division of Apple Inc. The service combined algorithm-based personalization with expert music suggestions from a variety of sources.

SoundayMusic is a geosocial networking mobile music streaming app that enables users to listen to and track the music their friends and neighbors are playing in real time. The service provides over 32 million tracks and allows users to create "music stations" choosing between a mix of up to three artists, or choosing a music genre. In the free version users can create up to 10 personalized stations, look at the stations that are being played nearby in real time, and interact with other users through instant chat. The paid, premium subscription removes advertisements and allows users to create an unlimited number of stations. It was launched in 2009> by Soundtracker, and as of December 2014 the service had 1.3 million registered users. Soundtracker is available for iOS App Store, Android Google Play, Windows Phone Store, Windows Store, Google Glass, BlackBerry World, Samsung Apps, Amazon Appstore, Nook, and Samsung Smart TV, in 10 languages: English, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Italian, Chinese Simplified, Japanese, Korean and Russian. Soundtracker is a registered trademark.

Kakao Corporation is a South Korean Internet conglomerate headquartered in Jeju City. It was formed through the merger of Daum Communications and the original Kakao Inc in 2010. The company was renamed Daum Kakao in 2014. In 2015 it was rebranded once more, reverting simply to Kakao.

Apple Music is an audio and video streaming service developed by Apple Inc. Users select music to stream to their device on-demand, or they can listen to existing playlists. The service also includes the Internet radio stations Apple Music 1, Apple Music Hits, and Apple Music Country, which are broadcast live to over 200 countries 24 hours a day. The service was announced on June 8, 2015, and launched on June 30, 2015. New subscribers get a one-month free or six months free trial with the purchase of select products before the service requires a monthly subscription.

References

  1. 1 2 "Messaging App Firm Line Is Testing A $2 Per Month Music Streaming Service". TechCrunch. 22 May 2015. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 "Line Messaging App Debuts Streaming Service for Under $2 in Thailand". Billboard Magazine . Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  3. ↑ "[檄文] Global Music 서버 개발자 모집". Naver. 20 February 2020.
  4. ↑ "Messaging Firm Line Partners With Two Labels To Launch A Music Streaming Business". TechCrunch. 11 December 2014. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  5. ↑ "【Corporate Announcement】Announcing the Formation of LINE Music, a Brand New Music Streaming Business". Line Corporation . Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  6. ↑ "Social app Line confirms its move into streaming music". Musically. 12 December 2014. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  7. ↑ "Messaging Firm Line Buys Microsoft's MixRadio To Take Its Focus On Music Global". TechCrunch. 18 December 2014. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  8. ↑ "Line offers music streaming". Bangkok Post . Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  9. 1 2 "Ahead of Apple Music, Line launches its own streaming service in Japan". The Next Web. 11 June 2015. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  10. ↑ "Announcements | [CLOSED] LINE MUSIC THAI". notice2.line.me. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
  11. ↑ "Line beats Apple and Spotify to music streaming in Japan". The Verge. 11 June 2015. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  12. 1 2 Sisario, Ben (11 June 2015). "Music Streaming Service Aims at Japan, Where CD Is Still King". The New York Times . Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  13. ↑ Andy Yang (10 July 2019). "Line Music 服務今日正式在台灣上線" (in Chinese). Engadget. Verizon Media. Archived from the original on 17 July 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  14. ↑ Ashley King (12 July 2019). "LINE Music Officially Launches In Taiwan Where Only 6% Of Smartphone Users Stream". Digital Music News.
  15. 1 2 3 4 "Line launches paid music streaming service in Japan ahead of Apple Music". PC world. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  16. 1 2 "【LINE MUSIC】LINE Launches New Music x Social Revolution On-Demand Music Subscription Service "LINE MUSIC" Released". Line Corporation . Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  17. ↑ "カーリー・レイ・ジェプセン「アイ・リアリー・ライク・ユー」が「LINE MUSIC」のCMソングに". HMV Corporation . Retrieved 25 August 2015.
  18. ↑ "【LINE MUSIC】女優 小松奈菜さん出演のテレビCMスタート!!". Line Corporation . Retrieved 25 August 2015.
  19. ↑ "Rdio expands to 9 new countries across Asia and Europe, including Indonesia, Singapore and Greece". The Next Web. 19 May 2014. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  20. ↑ "Music Streaming Service TIDAL Launches in Thailand". The Next Web. May 2015. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  21. ↑ "Japan's digital content struggles: the country of the future remains stuck in the past". The Verge. 15 November 2012. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  22. ↑ Gilbert, Ben (28 January 2015). "Sony closing Music Unlimited in favor of Spotify-powered service (update)". Engadget. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
  23. ↑ "Apple Music launching at 11AM ET tomorrow". The Verge. 29 June 2015. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  24. ↑ "Apple Music availability by country". Apple Inc. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  25. ↑ "【Corporate Announcement】LINE Corporation Announces 2015 Q2 Earnings". Line Corporation . Retrieved 3 August 2015.
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