Anubis.fm will soon become Songl. If you’re not familiar with Anubis.fm, it’s one of Australia’s first music subscriptions services, run by Sony, originally called bandit fm. Digital Music Distribution (DMD) is a new joint venture between Sony Music Entertainment Australia and Universal Music who will rename the service to Songl.
The change will occur officially on Wednesday 16 November 2011, but the site is already live if you visit songl.com. To get a free trial account, you’ll need an invite code, it doesn’t look like existing accounts are working yet.
Songl has some increased benefits to users including:
- A new improved web interface which allows easier creation of playlists.
- User playlists are accessible from more devices including PC, Sonos, iPhone and Android phones.
- Mobile phone access which allows users to access their music on the move.
- Both an iPhone app and Android app will be available from the iTunes store and the Android Market respectively from Tuesday 22 November 2011.
- 320 kilobit (high quality) streaming is available to Sonos, Web and mobile users. Simply select your preferred setting in Account Details.
Official confirmation of mobile applications is welcome news to members, after being told for months that a mobile anubis.fm was ‘coming soon’. That long-awaited app will now arrive with the name Songl, regardless of the name, a music subscription service without a mobile solution is a sitting duck for competitors.
Existing Anubis.fm members should be aware of the key information below:
- Your Anubis.fm login and password will still work on Songl from Wednesday 16th November 2011.
- Your Anubis.fm Premium membership (or existing free trial) will be honoured and continued as a Songl Premium membership till your next monthly anniversary date (after which it will not automatically renew) AND you will be given a further FREE 30 day trial on Songl from that date.
- At the end of the 30 day free trial, we will request that you re-enter your payment details to continue as a Songl Premium member.
- There may be a temporary reduction in the number of artists and tracks available on Songl. This will be rectified as soon as possible.
According to the FAQ page on Songl, it will only be available in Australia, with plans for international expansion in the future. Another interesting detail is that premium members can cache up to 1,000 songs on their mobile device for offline playback. The system will check at least every 7 days to ensure your subscription is active, if not, the tracks will cease to playback.
Membership types are listed in the graphic below, starting at $8.99pm for the basic, or $12.99 for premium. This will go head to head with Microsoft’s Zune Music, set to launch in Australia shortly for $12pm, but supports WP7, Xbox and PC playback rather than Sonos, PC and iPhone/Android.
Subscription services are really heating up in Australia, with a number of other high profile international services like Spotify launching here in early 2012. Ultimately competition and choice is great for consumers, with options to suit everyone’s needs.
More information @ http://songl.com
