Sky Songs closes after only a year

 

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By Barry Collins

Posted on 7 Dec 2010 at 08:36

BSkyB is closing its online music store, little more than a year after it first went live.

The subscription-based Sky Songs combined both streaming and downloads, but failed to offer any serious competition to rivals such as Apple's iTunes and Spotify. Sky Songs scored a middling three out of six in our recent test of online music stores, failing to impress as either a streaming or download service.

The service reportedly attracted fewer than 10,000 members, forcing BSkyB to concede defeat. "We've taken the difficult decision to close Sky Songs," the company said in a statement.

"Although we are extremely proud of the service we built and the experience it offers, we just didn't see the consumer demand we'd hoped for. As Sky Songs demonstrates, we're a business that takes risks and innovates, but at the same time, we're pragmatic and act decisively when a new venture isn't working out."

Sky Songs initially offered two subscription packages, the cheapest of which offered ten MP3 downloads and unlimited streaming for £6.49 per month, although that was later superceded by a £4.99 offer that included only five downloads. The service had the backing of all four major record labels.

Sky Songs customers have received an email warning them of the closure, and will have their payments cancelled immediately. The service will be switched off on 7 February, although customers can keep the music downloaded as part of their subscription.

Curiously, the Sky Songs website was still admitting new subscribers at the time of publication.