Change of Fees
Samsung Electronics announced on Oct. 14 that it is planning to diversify its music services by adding a premium subscription-based service to the current free one.
Due to the strong opposition of the Korea Music Copyright Association (KOMCA), Samsung has decided to make part of the free streaming Internet radio service Milk Music a subscription-based service by providing an ad-based basic service for free and charging fees for additional features.
On Sept. 24, the Korean tech giant officially launched Milk Music in the nation in partnership with peer-to-peer file-sharing service Soribada. However, the KOMCA has expressed strong opposition to Milk Music, saying that it fears an increasing number of people might think that digital music is free. The association notified Soribada that it will terminate its contract with Samsung.
A Samsung representative said, “We will consider copyright holders' opinions and add a premium subscription-based service during the first quarter of next year to provide more differentiated user experience. We are also planning to consider whether to expand customer options, including an ad-based service.”
The company is already providing a paid music service in the U.S. In addition to an ad-based free service, it is providing a premium subscription-based service at US$3.99 per month.
Meanwhile, Galaxy phone owners can use Samsung's music service app Milk free of charge. The service provides 3.6 million digital music files, and the app surpassed 1.3 million downloads only three weeks after its launch.