On-demand music service Rhapsody announced that it has crossed the 800,000 subscriber milestone and now offers more than 12 million tracks to its users. Of that number, more than 150,000 members joined the service since April 2010, when Rhapsody got its independence from RealNetworks. The original service, in case you care to know, was launched back in 2001.
According to the official press release, almost 40% of Rhapsody streams today are over mobile devices, and that number keeps growing every month. At the moment, the Rhapsody mobile app is available for Android, BlackBerry and iOS-based devices, allowing users to choose from millions of songs, and download them instantly for $9.99 or $14.99 per month.
Commenting on the news, Rhapsody’s president Jon Irwin said: “It’s clear that a premium, on-demand digital music service brings a ton of value to consumers and we have proven that a successful business can be built on this model over time. We believe the freemium model is not sustainable at current content cost structures. Companies with tremendous resources have come and gone, but Rhapsody’s focus on building long-term value is what has set us apart and contributed to our longevity. Consumers love the ability to listen to any song, as often as they like, in any order, anywhere on any device. The more they embrace a true on-demand experience, the more they will become aware of the shackles of free music services.”