SEATTLE, Oct. 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Rhapsody
International Inc. and Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc., or "SMEJ," today announced the
formal launch of the label's on demand, high resolution
streaming music service called "mora qualitas" in Japan. The premier service allows Japanese
music fans to have both the convenience of on-demand and the
superior quality of high resolution music.
SMEJ launched mora qualitas to bring Japanese subscribers a
brand new audio experience. Audiophiles can now stream high
resolution music with the depth and richness of what the artist
intended. Music will be sourced from multiple labels and
distributors, as well as Sony Music Entertainment.
Mora qualitas subscribers can stream FLAC (Free Lossless Audio
Codec) files at a standard of 24-bit/96kHz (Hi-Resolution)/
16-bit/44.1kHz (CD quality) through a variety of hardware devices
including Digital Analog Converters from Sony's entire line of
Hi-Res audio equipment.
"The world of streaming is accelerating and as great companies
like Sony Music Entertainment Japan expand into streaming audio,
it's an exciting time for the industry overall," said
Brian Ringer, Executive Vice
President and General Manager, Asia Pacific Region of Rhapsody.
"With the introduction of mora qualitas, music and audio fans in
Japan can easily stream their
favorite music in high resolution audio."
Japanese music fans can listen to high resolution music from top
talent such as Queen, Norah Jones,
Steely Dan and Japanese artists like Hikaru
Utada, DREAMS COME TRUE and more. Subscribers will be able
to access music from Universal Music Japan, Warner Music Japan,
Victor Entertainment and more in addition to Sony Music
Entertainment Japan's stable of global artists.
Mora qualitas Service Features:
- Enjoy music the way it was made, featuring lossless FLAC (Free
Lossless Audio Codec) at a standard of 24-bit/44.1-96kHz
(High-Resolution)
- Direct access to the most popular music in Japan, and a deep catalog of both Japanese and
Western artists.
- Discover new music through mora qualitas recommendations, top
playlists and friends.
- Lose yourself in a curated library of music, and featured
spotlights of top new High Resolution album releases.
- Listen to your music Windows and Macintosh desktops with an iOS
and Android mobile app coming soon.
- Fully compatible with a long list of Digital to Audio Converter
(DAC) and other Hi-Res audio listening equipment.
- Explore artists and albums, and interact with other music fans
through shared playlists and other content.
"Sony is taking high resolution sound quality to new heights.
We're building on the success of Mora, our original high res
download service in Japan, and
after six years we're in tune with what our customers want from
their streaming audio provider," said Shigeki Tanaka, Senior Vice President of Sony
Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc.
"We chose Napster as our trusted partner because they have the
global music experience, sophisticated API and passion to help us
launch Japan's new premier
service."
Rhapsody's platform Powered by Napster provides Sony Music
Entertainment Japan's "mora qualitas" service with a full suite of
technologies and solutions that includes media streaming and
download infrastructure, applications, personalization,
recommendations, rights management, customer billing and royalty
calculation capabilities.
Napster's in a prime position to power the coming wave of high
resolution music services and contribute to the growth of the
Japanese music industry with its Powered by Napster platform. The
International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI)'s
Global Music Report 2019 spotlighted the growth of music revenue in
Japan which saw an increase of
3.4% for 2018. The main driver for this, according to the report,
is streaming, which measured 32.6% growth over the year. The most
significant development in the streaming market was top-level pop
acts such as Hikaru Utada and Yumi
Matsutoya among others that are making their catalogs available on
streaming platforms like mora qualitas.
Music fans in Japan can
subscribe to mora qualitas for 1,980
Yen a month / around $18.50 US
dollars.
Mora qualitas is available for Windows and Macintosh desktop
users, initially, with an Android and iOS mobile app slated to
launch soon.
For more information about Powered by Napster
please visit https://business.napster.com/.
About Rhapsody International,
Inc.
Rhapsody International is a pioneer in
digital music and the leading provider of music streaming
technologies and services for businesses. Rhapsody operates
premium subscription service Napster in 34 countries and gives
millions of consumers unlimited ad free access to music on any
device-- online or offline. It also owns Powered by Napster, a
complete music and audio platform service, that allows companies to
quickly launch their own branded music and audio service. Rhapsody
is headquartered in Seattle, with
offices in the U.S., Europe,
Asia, and Latin
America. Follow @Napster on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook
and Instagram and learn more at www.napster.com
About Sony Music Entertainment (Japan), Inc.
Sony Music
Entertainment (Japan), or SMEJ,
holds all shares and serves as headquarters for the management and
administration of all Sony Music Group subsidiaries, while
continuing to grow as a diversified entertainment company.
Operations include marketing and tie-ins, finding and developing
artists, various entertainers and creators, as well as building our
businesses abroad. SMEJ strives to continue finding new
opportunities for the entertainment business by coordinating the
various business resources throughout the Sony Music Group, in
areas such as digital content where some of the latest technologies
including VR and AI are applied, digital publishing, exhibition
design, education, and sports entertainment.
View original content to download
multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/rhapsody-international-inc-and-sony-music-entertainment-japan-inc-launch-high-resolution-audio-streaming-experience-in-japan-300943922.html
SOURCE Rhapsody International Inc.