MixRadio expands amid streaming battle

MixRadio, the streaming service originally launched by Nokia, on Tuesday expanded availability to major smartphone platforms as the market for on-demand music keeps growing.

MixRadio, which markets itself as a personalized streaming service with curated playlists, said it would be available on Androids and iPhones.

MixRadio also announced a tie-up with Taiwanese telecom company HTC, which will bring the streaming service into its BlinkFeed feature that shows appointments, news and other items from across the device on the homescreen.

"For many people this will be the first time they have been able to experience MixRadio; we're confident they will love the simplicity of the experience and the quality of the personalization we deliver," MixRadio chief executive officer Jyrki Rosenberg said in a statement.

Nokia had launched MixRadio in 2007 but the Finnish company sold its once venerable mobile telephone business to Microsoft last year.

Microsoft, which already has its XBox Music, in turn sold MixRadio to Japan's Line Corp.

MixRadio, which is available in 31 countries, had originally been aimed at providing music content for Nokia which faced a tough challenge from the iPhone due to Apple's iTunes.

MixRadio said that it would still be pre-loaded on Microsoft's Lumia phones.

The expansion comes as streaming -- which allows unlimited on-demand listening -- and Internet radio rapidly expand.

Thanks to the rise of streaming and Internet radio providers such as Spotify, Deezer, Pandora and Rhapsody, digital music matched physical sales in revenue for the first time globally last year.
Source: AFP