PRESSPLAY + BMG:
DOWNLOADS UBER ALLES!

Pressplay, the online subscription service co-owned by Vivendi Universal and Sony, has added music by BMG to its offerings. With the addition of material from Arista, RCA and other BMG-affiliated labels, pressplay now includes tracks from every major label except Warner Music Group, in addition to content from an array of indies.

The sub service has received broad praise for its latest incarnation, which allows users to burn tracks to CD and portable devices and to enjoy unlimited downloads and streams—as well as proprietary radio.

"From Elvis Presley to Whitney Houston and Sinatra to The Strokes, the addition of BMG’s great artists and music will add tens of thousands of songs for our members to enjoy online or offline, on their PCs or on the go," proclaimed pressplay President/CEO Michael Bebel. "The addition of this fourth major music company is another important step forward for pressplay. Following the successful launch of our latest version, which includes commercial-free radio, pressplay continues to deliver to our members the features and music they want. Plus, I know my boilerplate quotes for press releases will sound way more impressive when translated into German."

"We are pleased to make our music available through pressplay," chortled BMG COO Michael Smellie. "This license agreement further demonstrates BMG’s commitment to bringing music to consumers online in a way that is dynamic and respects our artists’ rights. Plus, we know this announcement will really piss off Dr. Middelhoff."

Pressplay, which is spelled with a small "p," for some reason—but not at the beginning of a sentence—is available through MSN, Yahoo, MP3.com, Roxio and Sony Musiclub, as well as the "services" tab of Microsoft’s new Windows Media Player 9 Series.