Amazon to start cloud music service

Amazon.com Inc reached agreements with the four major US record companies to start a music service that lets users store songs on a remote server and access them online, people familiar with the matter said. Amazon plans to start the US service in the first week of July, with Europe availability shortly after, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the plans are private. With the agreements, Amazon's music service will work similarly to Apple Inc's iTunes, letting multiple devices access a centrally stored music collection. Amazon, whose Kindle Fire tablet computer sells for $199 (Dh730) - a lower price than Apple's least expensive iPad - is seeking to make money by offering higher-margin digital content on the device, such as books, music and movies. Sally Fouts, a spokeswoman for Seattle-based Amazon, declined to comment. Vivendi SA's Universal Music Group, Sony Corp.'s music business, EMI Group Ltd. and billionaire Len Blavatnik's Warner Music Group declined to comment in email statements. Amazon, the world's biggest Web retailer, gained 1.8 per cent to $218.35 at yesterday's close in New York. The stock has climbed 26 per cent this year. The company first offered a cloud music service in March 2011 that circumvented the need for agreements with individual record companies. Legally, the service required users to upload tracks to Amazon's servers, a lengthy and cumbersome process depending on Internet speed. It also had limited playback options. With the new agreements, customers who buy music through Amazon's music store will be given a free amount of storage, while those who choose to store their entire collections, including tracks purchased elsewhere, will pay an annual fee, the people said. Amazon's music service will also be available on iPads and iPhones through the Kindle application for Apple devices, the people said. Earlier, Amazon.com forged a licensing agreement with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, letting the online retailer add The Silence of the Lambs, and hundreds of other movies and TV shows to its internet video service. Amazon’s Prime Instant Video catalog now includes more than 18,000 films and TV episodes, the Seattle-based e-commerce company said Wednesday. Users can watch the programs on their computers, Kindle Fire tablets or other devices. The MGM catalog, which includes Terminator, Dances With Wolves and Rain Man, will help Amazon’s video service compete with rival offerings from Apple and Google’s YouTube. The companies are racing to add more content and features as more consumers start watching professionally produced entertainment on their computers. “MGM offers one of the most distinguished catalogs in all of Hollywood,” Brad Beale, director of digital video content acquisition for Amazon, said. From gulfnews