General News / Australia

Samsung launches a music revolution - Samsung Music Hub

SYDNEY, Australia – 6 October, 2011 – Samsung Electronics Australia today ushers in a new era in the way consumers listen and access music with the launch of Samsung Music Hub. The service, via Samsung Apps, offers a subscription to music streamed directly to a multitude of Samsung devices¹ across five different platforms at a monthly cost less than the price of an average album on CD².

“Samsung has worked closely with the major record labels to locally develop this service exclusively for the Australian market,” said Tyler McGee, Vice President of Telecommunications, Samsung Electronics Australia. “The era of cloud services is now upon us and has opened up an ideal connection between music and devices. Streamed music is a revolutionary step in the way we access music that’s shaping music in much the same way as digital downloads did for CD,” he added. “Consumers are now able to create their own music collections through a range of different devices, with access to millions of songs at an incredibly affordable subscription price.”

Samsung, the number one brand in Smartphones³ in Australia, developed Music Hub in collaboration with all four major record labels. The service has been applauded by key influencers across the Australian music industry, including Dan Rosen, Chief Executive Officer, ARIA (Australian Recording Industry Association) who said, “On behalf of ARIA, I welcome Samsung’s new Music Hub service into the arena of music streaming as a great way for music lovers to access music in a legitimate format which supports artists, labels and songwriters.”

Music Across Multiple Samsung Devices
Industry reports show that consumers are increasingly accessing music on the go and from multiple devices. With a Samsung Music Hub premium subscription you will be able to access your favourite music playlists on up to 5 different platforms⁴ including:

• Samsung GALAXY SmartPhones⁵
• Samsung GALAXY Tablets⁶
• Samsung Smart TVs⁷
• Samsung Smart Home Theatres & Smart Blu-rays⁸
• And via web-browser on PC’s⁹

Smart Caching to avoid bill-burn
‘Smart Caching’ on the Samsung GALAXY range lets consumers sync playlists on Wi-Fi and store on the device and can be played continuously as long as desired without being streamed. The ensures 3G data charges are minimised and ‘bill-burn’ is avoided.

Access
The service can be activated over a 3G or Wi-Fi network of your choice, Bluetooth wireless headsets are supported as well as Car Audio systems that support Bluetooth Streaming.

Music Videos
Music in the living room will become an enhanced experience with not only access to millions of songs played on your Samsung Smart TV, Smart Home Theatre and Smart Blu-ray¹⁰ devices and for the first time, consumers will have access to over 10,000 music videos from the major record labels via these Smart AV devices. Designed to deliver high quality, on demand content straight to the centre of the home, the service offers thousands of HD (720p) videos with an additional 40 on average added per week. The service on Samsung Smart AV devices will be available by mid-December.

Playlists
Samsung Music Hub playlists stored in the cloud and pulled onto your device as required, makes it easy to bring together all your favourite music, with lists of up to 200 songs. Playlists can be accessed anywhere within Australia (within internet service range) as they ‘Auto Sync’ across all devices with premium trial on an authorised account.

Follow-Me
The service also features ‘Follow Me,’ which picks up your playlists last played track when you next login from any of the Samsung compatible platforms within your subscription level. Listen to a track on your daily commute with a GALAXY S II and then picit up again when you arrive at home on your Samsung SmartTV.

Music Discovery
Samsung Music Hub gives Australian’s access to millions of tracks from all four major music labels and various independents. The service makes it easy to find your favourite artist or discover new music with a number of intuitive features, such as:

• An intelligent artist and media suggestion tool
• Automatically populated music collections
• In-depth discography
• Extensive artists information

Trials

• Two month trial– for all existing and new GALAXY S II Smartphone’s purchased before December 31, 2011, (downloaded application, signed up for Mobile)
• One month free trial - from 1st November for all existing and new purchases of all other GALAXY Smartphones (GALAXY Android v2.2 devices and higher) and Tablets

Pricing & Availability
Samsung Music Hub is available from 17th October and offers two subscription packages:

• Mobile: Allows either a Samsung GALAXY Smartphone or Samsung GALAXY Tab to access the service - $9.99/month or six months for $54.99 or 12 months for $99.99
• Premium: Allows four Samsung compatible products and web browser access to the service -$14.99/month or six months for $79.99 or 12 months for $149.99

a la carte Downloads
Whilst Samsung believes the future is all about streaming subscription services, to cater for those who simply have to download tracks, consumers can also buy and download individual tracks on Samsung Music Hub. This part of the full service will launch at a time in the near future.

 

Learn more>>

1. Available on select Samsung SmartPhone, Tablets, Smart TVs, Smart Home Theatres and Smart Blu-rays and via all PC’s with web access
2. Based on ARIA average CD sales figures for 2010
3. GfK Retail and Technology Australia, Smart Phones, Retail Sales Units August 2011 (excludes internet, grocery, corporate and direct channels)
4. All five platforms available by mid-December 2011
5. Available initally on the Samsung GALAXY S II Android device from 17 October, 2011 and GALAXY Android v2.2 devices and higher from 1 November, 2011
6. Available on GALAXY Tab 7” device from 1 November, 2011
7. Available on all 2011 model Smart TVs by mid-December 2011
8. Available on all Smart Home Theatres & Smart Blu-rays devices by mid-December 2011
9. Available on all PC’s with web access from 17 October 2011
10. Available on all Smart Home Theatres & Smart Blu-rays devices by mid-December 2011