Sony Gets Cloudy

SONY GETS CLOUDY: Remember Sony Connect? That’s part of the problem as Sony launches a new music streaming service today to boost sales of its consumer electronics as it tries to derail Apple’s decade-long dominance in online music. The company’s “Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity" (curiosity, get it?) is a digital music service based on cloud technology, which gives subscribers access to a catalog of about 6 million songs, which can be streamed across Sony Internet-connected devices like the PlayStation 3, PCs and Bravia TVs. The service, which debuted in the U.K. and Ireland today, and will roll out in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, New Zealand and the U.S. next year, can be synchronized with a user’s existing music files, including iTunes. It follows the launch of an on-demandl, streaming video service now available in the U.S. and several European countries. Sony is starting off with a substantial user base through the PlayStation 3, which has more than 60 million users worldwide, with about 80% of them connected to the Web. (12/22p)