Grapevine Consulting

Exciting developments at We7 [a ShinyRed client whose account I formerly worked on]. Today sees the new Sony BMG music streaming service going live.

While it isn’t yet ready to go head-to-head with services like Last.fm it’s positive to see a major label  take its first steps into ”free” music provision. Although it looks like the delivery, via live streaming only, shows Sony BMG is not on board with We7’s DRM position.

This is diplomatically expressed as:

“Initially, not all the tracks will be available to listen to in all the formats but We7 will continue to work with the music industry to break down the barriers to bring even greater choice to users in the coming months.”

The We7 proposition has always seemed a strong one to me – and I don’t even get paid to say that now! While getting more and higher quality (no offense intended) content on the site is still a challenge for them I can only encourage people to sign-up, check it out and drive more deals like these.

And, if you’re an emerging artists junkie then check out their unsigned bands section too. This generation of artists is going to shape music distribution via social media.

What’s next? I’m waiting for a video announcement…