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Type of site | Internet radio, Digital music store, Music streaming service, Media player software |
|---|---|
| Available in | Multilingual |
| Commercial | Yes |
| Registration | Optional (required for most) |
| Current status | Defunct (merged into Yahoo!) |
Yahoo Music was a brand under which Yahoo provided music services including Internet radio, a digital music store, music streaming service, media player software, and original programming. Yahoo Music was sold to Rhapsody in early 2008. [1] [2]
In June 2001, after the bursting of the dot-com bubble, Yahoo acquired LAUNCH Media, which was facing financial difficulty, for $12 million. [3] [4] [5] In addition to a website with music news and videos, it provided an Internet radio service that allowed users to create personalized Internet radio stations by rating songs selected by a recommender system. Users were also able to listen to music from 150 preset Internet radio stations. The service offered both an advertising supported free version and a subscription fee-based premium version. [6] At the time of the acquisition by Yahoo, the service had 7.4 million users. [7]
In December 2008, the service was integrated into CBS Radio due to a rise in royalty rates, with CBS taking full control of the service, including advertising and sales and adding compatibility with Firefox and Safari. [8] [9] [10] [11]
The service was integrated with iHeartRadio in June 2012, providing listeners exclusive access to music events such as the iHeartRadio Music Festival. [12] The service was shut down in early 2014 without any announcement.
Musicmatch was a media player software that also operated an internet radio service, which allowed users choose the artist they want to listen to but not the song. [13] MusicMatch Jukebox was launched in 1997 [14] and was bundled with the iPod Classic as its music manager until the introduction of iTunes for Microsoft Windows in 2003. [15] In September 2003, the company launched a digital music store with 200,000 songs available. [16] [17] It had a partnership with Dell to promote the service and software. [18]
On September 14, 2004, Yahoo acquired Musicmatch Jukebox for $160 million. However, the service was not integrated well, instead stagnating. [19] It was shut down on August 31, 2007. [20]
| Launch date | May 10, 2005 |
|---|---|
| Discontinued | September 30, 2008 |
| Platform(s) | Windows: XP, Vista |
| Pricing model | Subscription business model |
In May 2005, Yahoo Music launched Yahoo Music Unlimited, a music streaming service and digital music store. [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] Users paid a subscription fee to access a library of over two million songs which could be either streamed or downloaded as DRM-protected Windows Media Audio files and played from a computer in near CD quality sound. Subscribers could also download songs for transfer to CD or supported portable devices with an additional per-song payment. Yahoo Music Jukebox was the software used for the service. The service required an active Internet connection. It was discontinued on September 30, 2008. [26] [27] The service was praised for its music quality, interface, and cheaper price than competitors. [28] [29]
| Other names | Yahoo Music Engine |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Yahoo |
| Initial release | 2005 |
| Final release | 2.2.2.058 / February 6, 2008 |
| Operating system | Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista |
| Type | Media player Music streaming service Online radio |
| License | Proprietary |
| Website | music |
Yahoo Music Jukebox, formerly known as Yahoo Music Engine, was a freeware media player software released by Yahoo in 2005 to compete with iTunes and Rhapsody in the digital music market. [30] [31] [32] [33] [34]
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