Music Choice and Sprint are launching a music service that allows mobile phone users to view short videoclips and listen to radio-like programming on their handsets.
The service, Music Choice Today, bows today (Dec. 20) and offers Sprint subscribers streaming access to Music Choice audio channels via their cell phones. For $5.99 per month, users can listen to a range of genres and formats, as well as music news and daily video snippets of artist interviews and performances originally produced by Music Choice.
Music Choice president/CEO Dave Del Beccaro says the service is designed to allow consumers to experience a “few quick minutes of music” in their spare time, such as when waiting in line or at doctors’ offices, train stations and airports.
Sprint and other wireless carriers are looking toward advanced audio and video features on phones to help drive adoption and usage of their new high-speed data networks.
The Music Choice offering is part of a larger multimedia programming push for mobile handsets by Sprint. Earlier this year, the company announced Sprint PCS Vision Multimedia Services, which delivers streaming audio and video content.
Music Choice Today represents the first dedicated music offering on the platform. A limited-access version of the service — featuring select news and videoclips, but no streaming audio — also comes bundled in a package of news, sports and entertainment services, called Sprint TV, for $9.99 per month.
At launch, Music Choice Today and other multimedia programming will be available only on one phone, the Sprint PCS Vision Multimedia Phone MM-7400 from Sanyo. However, Sprint says the programming will be made available on other multimedia phones in the near future.
