@ CTIA E&A: Rhapsody focuses on unique traits in mobile music space

SAN FRANCISCO — Rhapsody has been an evangelist for subscription-based music since its beginning and well before the smart phone explosion.
But today, the company finds itself competing with a growing number of competitors, mostly startups, that are offering similiar all-you-can-eat subscription plans for music.
As it tries to maintain that early edge, the company is evolving and aggressively pushing the service and new features to mobile devices.
Rhapsody’s iPhone app, which was the first to allow offline playback on that device, has an update on the way that will let users download individual tracks and if all goes to plan, drive more discovery on the go. The Android app will soon be updated to include offline playback and a BlackBerry app is on the way as well.
“You want to help the music fan experience music on that app and do it really well,” the company’s president Jon Irwin said yesterday at Billboard’s Mobile Entertainment Live.
“We are now at a time in the industry where we can really deliver on the promise,” he said. “You’re truly surrounded by music and make it really simple for the audience to get it.”
In an interview with RCR Wireless News following his time on stage, Irwin talked about Rhapsody’s place in the increasingly crowded mobile music space and how Rhapsody differentiates itself from all the others.
“I think differentiation comes from experience,” he said. Rhapsody’s dedicated editorial team and access to exclusive tracks are two key differentiators, but with 10.5 million tracks available, Rhapsody also has a much larger library than its competitors.
Partnerships with the record labels and in-house expertise are indispensable, Irwin said. “It’s going to resonate with the consumer,” he added.
“We have a real business, by far the largest of any in the subscription business,” he said.
So while competitors continue to spring up in the space, Irwin says he’s emboldened by the overall growth and newfound interest in mobile music.
“It’s a new day now,” he said. Open ecosystems, open platforms and the smart phone surge are all contributing to that and it’s clearly evidenced by all of the newer companies making a play in mobile music.