Electric Jukebox music streaming device launches in the UK – WBNews

Streaming music startup Electric Jukebox has launched a device similar to an Amazon Fire Stick that plugs into a TV’s HDMI port.

The device, named after its parent company, costs £169 ($187), and the price includes a 12-month subscription to the company’s music streaming service.

After the first year, Electric Jukebox listeners are switched to an ad-supported version of the service, or they can opt to pay £52 ($57) per year to maintain it in full. The service also comes with a voice-control enabled remote control that can access a 29 million song library. It seems that music services are going after the nearly 90% of UK adults who do not subscribe to any music streaming products.

Streaming subscriptions may be too expensive for many UK listeners, according to a recent survey conducted by Zuora and YouGov. Only 10%, or 5.2 million, of consumers in the UK subscribe to digital streaming services, like Spotify and Apple Music. The survey suggests that music streaming services should experiment with pricing tiers to attract subscribers, as 48% of those surveyed think on-demand streaming is too costly.

• The average subscriber pays £7.07 ($7.70) per month for a music streaming subscription. While the initial financial outlay for Electric Jukebox is high, users will pay around £4 ($4.40) per month after their first year. Competitors like Spotify and Apple Music charge £10 ($11.01) per month.
• Lack of smartphone and offline playback are major feature omissions. Subscribers have to use the new service with a TV or HDMI-enabled device, and Electric Jukebox is making a major bet on the living room. Consumers may want to spend the extra cash to get music subscriptions on all devices, not just their TVs or other devices with an HDMI port.

Competitors are investing in UK music services. Apple has reportedly hired 16 employees from subscription service Omnifone, which was created by Electric Jukebox founder Rob Lewis, and filed for bankruptcy this summer, according to TechCrunch.

In addition, Apple is scooping up some of Omnifone’s technology, which could include around 50 patents. Although UK consumers have so far been unimpressed by the subscription services on the table, competition is heating up as various music streaming players look to bring the winning offering to market.

Jessica Smith, research analyst for BI Intelligence, Business Insider’s premium research service, has compiled a detailed report on streaming media devices that sizes up this market by device category and takes a more granular dive into each.

The report includes new shipments forecasts, identifies major players, and assesses the advantages and weaknesses of each device category. It also examines how usage and ownership may vary among device categories and the implications of this upswing on various ancillary markets, like advertising and app development.

Here are some key takeaways from the report:

• Streaming media device adoption is rising fast as over-the-top (OTT) streaming video services — such as Netflix and HBO NOW — make it easier than ever to ditch traditional pay-TV. We expect global shipments of streaming media devices to grow at a 10% compound annual growth rate (CAGR), from 240 million in 2016 to 382 million in 2021.
• Over the next few years, we expect the market for streaming media devices to grow and consolidate. In the long term, newer technologies like virtual reality will become a leading connected device segment. However, in the next five years, smart TVs, gaming consoles, and media streamers will remain the top categories by a wide margin.
• Smart TVs currently dominate shipments, accounting for three-quarters of device shipments in 2015. As people upgrade their TVs, the global installed base of smart TVs will grow from 584 million in 2016 to 896 million in 2021.
• As streaming media device uptake rises, stakeholders throughout the larger media ecosystem will need to adapt to consumers’ changing habits. Legacy TV providers will likely need to offer skinny bundles or their own OTT subscriptions to stay relevant, while advertisers will want to capitalize on the opportunities available in targeting streaming viewers using demographic and behavioral data. App developers, platform creators, and game makers will also have a stake in where and how streaming activity develops.

In full, the report:

• Identifies the major device categories in the streaming media market.
• Sizes up the current reach and shipments forecast for each device category.
• Compares and contrasts the benefits and downsides of each device category within the greater streaming media ecosystem.
• Examines the major players in each device category.
• Assesses the gap between streaming media device installed base and usage.
• Explores how this growing market is impacting other industries in its peripherals.

To get your copy of this invaluable guide to the streaming media device universe, choose one of these options:

1. Subscribe to an ALL-ACCESS Membership with BI Intelligence and gain immediate access to this report AND over 100 other expertly researched deep-dive reports, subscriptions to all of our daily newsletters, and much more. >> START A MEMBERSHIP
2. Purchase the report and download it immediately from our research store. >> BUY THE REPORT

The choice is yours. But however you decide to acquire this report, you’ve given yourself a powerful advantage in your understanding of the ever-changing world of streaming media devices.

Electric Jukebox music streaming device launches in the UK have 887 words, post on www.businessinsider.com at 2017-02-12 08:01:18. This is cached page on WBNews. If you want remove this page, please contact us.