Rara.com: a new music service for the techno techno technophobe (video)

Music lovin' grampas here and in Europe will be doing The Charleston when they hear about Rara.com, a cloud-based music service with them in mind, which launched today. Powered by Omnifone, the same whitelabel service behind Sony's Music Unlimited, Rara hopes to appeal to the 70 percent of people its research shows "do not 'do' digital music." There's access to the same ten-million-strong music library as other services, and pricing starts at a frugal 99c/p for the first three months (rising to 4.99 from there on in) for the web-only option. Those with a little more tech-smarts can use an Android service too, which launches at 1.99 (going to 9.99) with the web-service bundled in. Those directly north and south of the border can look forward to access later this week, with Hong Kong, Taiwan, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore lighting up before Christmas. An iOS app will complete the set soon. Tap the PR after the break for more.

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Global digital music service rara.com brings music to >900m people in 23 markets

13 December 2011: 08.00 EST – New York – rara.com, a revolutionary new digital music service designed specifically for the mass market who still use CDs and want an easier way to adopt digital music, launches across 16 countries today, including the USA, UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland. rara.com will also launch in Canada, Mexico and five additional markets later this week, bringing the new service within reach of more than 900m people.

To enable as many consumers as possible to experience the joys of rara.com, consumers will be able to gain instant access to rara.com and a catalogue of over 10 million tracks ad-free for just 99 cents/pence, for the first three months.

The new web based service will also be available on Android, iOS and other platforms.

Imogen Heap, who will sit on the new service's Music Advisory Board as an Associate Editor, said, "I'm really excited to be an associate editor for rara.com. As an artist in this transitional music business phase I believe that rara.com is heading sharply in the right direction. I've travelled the world this year and have realised that even if fans want to pay for artists' work consuming it legally online can often be very difficult. rara.com is a super easy service for everyone to use and I love the information on tracks and artists that rara.com gives you. This is just the beginning for rara.com and it's a great start."

"Uniquely, you can experience access to all the music you want, ad-free, for less than the price of a single track," said Tim Hadley, rara.com Director. "Whether you're into Gaga or Elgar, rara.com is a new kind of streaming music service which makes accessing the music you love online easier and more delightful than ever; type rara.com into your web browser and you have a world of music at your fingertips."

The new service was developed following ICM Research* commissioned by rara.com which shows at least 70% of consumers have not bought a digital music track in the past six months, and that 60% have never experienced any form of digital music.

rara.com reaches this market by utilising a simple and beautiful user interface, which removes the need to navigate or manage lists of digital media files, through a standard web browser.

rara.com also features a wide selection of expertly curated music channels to suit your every mood at the touch of a button making playing music online with rara.com as easy as switching on your radio or CD player.

rara.com users can also share playlists and tracks through Facebook and other social networks.

rara.com has secured international licensing agreements with Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, EMI Music and Warner Music Group. Publishers and collection societies have also licensed the service internationally with Omnifone creating a catalogue of over 10 million tracks for rara.com users to enjoy.

"rara.com has delivered a music service that taps into an entirely new type of music consumer," said Rob Wells, President of Global Digital Business for Universal Music Group. "Instead of competing with existing digital music services, it's designed for the mass market of consumers who have yet to do digital music at all."

"We are pleased to be partnering with rara.com on the launch of their new music service," said Michael Paull, Executive Vice President, Global Digital Business, Sony Music Entertainment. "Growing the audience for digital music around the world requires services that resonate with the mass market. rara.com has been designed with broad consumer appeal in mind with a simple interface that provides a great music experience and accessibility across a range of devices."

"rara.com is a great new way for a whole new audience of fans to find, listen to and share music online, building deeper connections with the artists they love and discovering a world of new music as well," said Mark Piibe, Executive Vice President - Global Business Development at EMI Music.

"The intuitive and thoughtfully designed interface combined with the curated channels makes rara.com a service that will be accessible and appealing to a wide audience and, potentially, an entry point for many people just starting the transition to digital music." said Stephen Bryan, Executive Vice President of Digital Strategy and Business Development, Warner Music Group.

rara.com is powered by global cloud music service provider Omnifone. "Omnifone is proud to be behind this global digital music service," said Omnifone CEO Jeff Hughes, "rara.com's unique service is a great example of how a company can utilise Omnifone's MusicStation Platform and unique global licensing services to bring a truly innovative service to market."

rara.com's global footprint will more than double by the end of 2012.

Notes to editors:

*ICM Research: Sample 1000 adults.

Unique introductory pricing

Access to rara.com costs just 99c/99p Euro cents per month for the first 3 months followed by a flat fee of $/€£4.99 per month for online access (web), with mobile access to rara.com on Android smartphones (web + mobile) just $/€/£1.99 per month for the first 3 months then $/€/£9.99 per month.

Users are free to unsubscribe from the service at any time.

Non-$/€/£ monthly territory pricing for rara.com is as follows:

Mexico

web: Mexican Peso (MXN) – first 3 months $11.99 / then $58.99

web + mobile: Mexican Peso (MXN) – first 3 months $23.99 / then $118.99

Denmark

web: Danish Kroner (DK) – first 3 months kr.9.99 / then kr.49.99

web + mobile: Danish Kroner (DK) – first 3 months kr.19.99 / then kr.99.99

Norway

web: Norwegian Kroner (NOK) – first 3 months kr.9.99 / then kr.49.99

web + mobile: Norwegian Kroner (NOK) – first 3 months kr.19.99 / then kr.99.99

Sweden

web: Swedish Kroner (SEK) – first 3 months kr.9.99 / then kr.49.99

web + mobile: Swedish Kroner (SEK) – first 3 months kr.19.99 / then kr.99.99

Switzerland

web: Swiss Franc – first 3 months chf. 1.99 / then chf. 7.99

web + mobile: Swiss Franc – first 3 months chf. 2.49 / then chf. 12.99

Highlights of the service include:

• Ad-free access to >10 million tracks from just 99c/99p per month

• Grammy award winning Imogen Heapnamed first Associate Editor of rara.com

• rara.com secured licensing from Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, EMI Music, Warner Music Group

• rara.com released consumer research showing 70% of consumers do not "do" digital music today

• The service will launch in 7 additional markets including Canada, Mexico launching later this week