JB Hi-Fi rolls out own digital music service NOW

Australian tunes in to the high street

By Natalie Apostolou, 13th December 2011

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Gadget house JB HiFi is extending its digital footprint with a music subscription service.

Its NOW brand, launched in beta on December 13, claims digital licences to over 10 million songs, with discovery and social media/community plugins. The retailer said that it kicked off with over 100,000 artists and 3 million songs.

“Tens of thousands of tracks are being added daily and it is expected that we will sign even more licence deals over the coming months adding further to the repertoire by early next year,” the company said.

While currently web centric a NOW smartphone and tablet app for Apple iOS, Android and Windows devices is slated to be launched early next year.

“JB Hi-Fi NOW is set to be a game-changer for the music industry here in Australia and will change the way that we listen to and enjoy music. JB Hi-Fi NOW is another example of our continued focus on innovation and emerging technologies” said JB Hi-Fi CEO Terry Smart.

The Beta service is being offered on a one month free trial to prospective customers. Paid service subscriptions start at $AU6.67 a month based on a 12 month subscription, which offers unlimited access. Other packages offered include $AU25 for a three month subscription, or $AU50 for six months.

On The Register's first inspection the site is slow and a little clunky but has all the elements of a Spotify-styled service.

JB recently attracted the usual labels of "grey marketer" when it launched its own parallel import service, allowing customers to place offshore orders for a range of digital cameras, including Nikon and Canon products. ®

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