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Yahoo Music

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Yahoo Music
Type of site
Internet radio, Digital music store, Music streaming service, Media player software
Available inMultilingual
CommercialYes
RegistrationOptional (required for most)
Current statusDefunct (merged into Yahoo!)
Previous Yahoo! Music logo used until 2013.

Yahoo Music was a brand under which Yahoo provided music services including Internet radio, a digital music store, music streaming service, media player software, and original programming. Yahoo Music was sold to Rhapsody in early 2008.[1][2]

Products

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Yahoo Music Radio

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In June 2001, after the bursting of the dot-com bubble, Yahoo acquired LAUNCH Media, which was facing financial difficulty, for $12 million.[3][4][5] In addition to a website with music news and videos, it provided an Internet radio service that allowed users to create personalized Internet radio stations by rating songs selected by a recommender system. Users were also able to listen to music from 150 preset Internet radio stations. The service offered both an advertising supported free version and a subscription fee-based premium version.[6] At the time of the acquisition by Yahoo, the service had 7.4 million users.[7]

In December 2008, the service was integrated into CBS Radio due to a rise in royalty rates, with CBS taking full control of the service, including advertising and sales and adding compatibility with Firefox and Safari.[8][9][10][11]

The service was integrated with iHeartRadio in June 2012, providing listeners exclusive access to music events such as the iHeartRadio Music Festival.[12] The service was shut down in early 2014 without any announcement.

Musicmatch Jukebox

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Musicmatch was a media player software that also operated an internet radio service, which allowed users choose the artist they want to listen to but not the song.[13] MusicMatch Jukebox was launched in 1997[14] and was bundled with the iPod Classic as its music manager until the introduction of iTunes for Microsoft Windows in 2003.[15] In September 2003, the company launched a digital music store with 200,000 songs available.[16][17] It had a partnership with Dell to promote the service and software.[18]

On September 14, 2004, Yahoo acquired Musicmatch Jukebox for $160 million. However, the service was not integrated well, instead stagnating.[19] It was shut down on August 31, 2007.[20]

Yahoo Music Unlimited

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Yahoo Music Unlimited
Launch dateMay 10, 2005; 20 years ago (2005-05-10)
DiscontinuedSeptember 30, 2008; 16 years ago (2008-09-30)
Platform(s)Windows: XP, Vista
Pricing modelSubscription business model

In May 2005, Yahoo Music launched Yahoo Music Unlimited, a music streaming service and digital music store.[21][22][23][24][25] Users paid a subscription fee to access a library of over two million songs which could be either streamed or downloaded as DRM-protected Windows Media Audio files and played from a computer in near CD quality sound. Subscribers could also download songs for transfer to CD or supported portable devices with an additional per-song payment. Yahoo Music Jukebox was the software used for the service. The service required an active Internet connection. It was discontinued on September 30, 2008.[26][27] The service was praised for its music quality, interface, and cheaper price than competitors.[28][29]

Yahoo Music Jukebox

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Yahoo Music Jukebox
Other namesYahoo Music Engine
Developer(s)Yahoo
Initial release2005; 20 years ago (2005)
Final release
2.2.2.058 / February 6, 2008; 17 years ago (2008-02-06)
Operating systemWindows 98, Windows ME, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista
TypeMedia player
Music streaming service
Online radio
LicenseProprietary
Websitemusic.yahoo.com/jukebox

Yahoo Music Jukebox, formerly known as Yahoo Music Engine, was a freeware media player software released by Yahoo in 2005 to compete with iTunes and Rhapsody in the digital music market.[30][31][32][33][34]

References

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  1. ^ Schroeder, Stan (February 4, 2008). "Yahoo Kills Yahoo Music Unlimited, Signs Deal With Rhapsody". Mashable.
  2. ^ Schroeder, Stan (July 3, 2008). "With the closing of Yahoo's music download store, old DRM'd songs now useless". TechCrunch.
  3. ^ "Yahoo Expands Music Portfolio With Deal to Buy Launch Media". The Wall Street Journal. June 28, 2001.
  4. ^ Hu, Jim. "Yahoo thinks entertainment with Launch buy". CNET.
  5. ^ King, Brad (June 28, 2001). "Yahoo Launches Into Web Music". Wired.
  6. ^ Williams, Martyn (January 29, 2003). "Report: Yahoo to launch subscription music service". Computerworld.
  7. ^ Flynn, Laurie J. (June 29, 2001). "Internet: Yahoo Buys A Music Service". The New York Times.
  8. ^ Liedtke, Michael (December 3, 2008). "Rising royalties send Yahoo's Launchcast to CBS". NBC News. Archived from the original on December 14, 2023.
  9. ^ Reisinger, Don (December 3, 2008). "Yahoo hands Launchcast to CBS Radio". CNET.
  10. ^ Bachman, Katy (December 3, 2008). "CBS to Power Yahoo's LaunchCast". AdWeek.
  11. ^ Arrington, Michael (December 3, 2008). "Yahoo To Relaunch Launchcast Next Year With CBS Radio". TechCrunch.
  12. ^ Gardner, Eriq (June 27, 2012). "Yahoo and Clear Channel Forge Digital Radio Partnership". The Hollywood Reporter.
  13. ^ Hansell, Saul (March 3, 2003). "E-Music Sites Settle on Prices. It's a Start". The New York Times.
  14. ^ "MusicMatch grooves to paid tunes". CNET.
  15. ^ Griffith, Eric (May 10, 2022). "A Visual History of the Apple iPod". PCMag.
  16. ^ "MusicMatch Bows Download Store". Billboard. September 29, 2003.
  17. ^ Smith, Tony (September 29, 2003). "Musicmatch iTunes-style service goes live". The Register.
  18. ^ Frauenheim, Ed (October 27, 2003). "Dell unveils MP3 player". CNET.
  19. ^ Van Buskirk, Eliot (July 11, 2007). "Why Did Yahoo Pay $160 Million for Musicmatch?". Wired.
  20. ^ Lendino, Jamie (July 9, 2007). "Yahoo Ends Musicmatch Service". AdWeek.
  21. ^ "Yahoo! Soft Launches New Music Service". Billboard. May 10, 2005.
  22. ^ Bangeman, Eric (May 11, 2005). "Yahoo enters digital music fray". Ars Technica.
  23. ^ Healey, Jon (May 11, 2005). "Yahoo Offers Subscription Service for Online Music". Los Angeles Times.
  24. ^ Contreras, Felix (May 12, 2005). "Yahoo Announces Music Download Service". NPR.
  25. ^ Kim, James (August 18, 2005). "Yahoo Music Unlimited officially live". CNET.
  26. ^ "Yahoo Not Only Shutting Music Store, But Orphaning DRM Buyers". CBS News. July 27, 2008.
  27. ^ Sorrel, Charlie (July 25, 2008). "So Long, And Thanks for All the Cash: Yahoo Shuts Down Music Store and DRM Servers". Wired.
  28. ^ Meier, Josh (May 28, 2005). "Software Review: Yahoo Music Unlimited!". Ars Technica.
  29. ^ Dreier, Troy (February 21, 2007). "Yahoo! Music Unlimited". PCMag.
  30. ^ Borland, John (September 14, 2004). "Yahoo's long and winding music road". CNET.
  31. ^ Olsen, Stefanie (May 5, 2005). "Yahoo developing an audio search engine". ZDNet. CNET Networks.
  32. ^ Hansell, Saul (August 4, 2005). "Yahoo Introduces Search Service for Music". The New York Times.
  33. ^ "Rogers Named Yahoo! Music GM". Billboard. February 22, 2007.
  34. ^ Hu, Jim (February 4, 2004). "Yahoo composing music download plan". CNET.
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