REALNETWORKS LAUNCHES REALONE

RealOne Music is the first consumer subscription offering of MusicNet, the joint venture among Real, AOLTW, Bertelsmann and EMI. At launch, the service will offer about 100,000 songs from WMG, BMG, EMI and Zomba.

Subscribers who pony up the $9.95 a month for RealOne Music not only get a free RealOne Player, but they can also listen to 100 streams and 100 downloads a month. The more expensive RealOne Gold ($19.95 a month with 125 streams and 125 downloads) also includes all of the additional RealOne content, such as ABCNEWS.com, CBS Survivor Insider, CNN, E! Networks and FoxSports.com.

Downloaded songs can be played an unlimited number of times—for 30 days anyway. After that time, the songs must be "rented" again.

"With RealOne, the media revolution is here," said RealNetworks Chairman/CEO Rob Glaser. "Since 1995, we have been leading this industry and never have we seen so many brand name content providers come together to reach the online consumer. From news to sports to entertainment to music, it’s all here. With quality content that easy to get, watch and manage, we are very excited about the future of online subscription services—especially the part where the consumers pay over and over again for the same music."