ArkivMusic announces classical streaming

[Brian]

Our streaming service was designed with the classical listener in mind.

• Easily find the exact work you want to hear
• View all available recordings of that work at a glance
• Pick the interpretation you are interested in, or listen to them all
• Use our new category pages to explore music by era or type
• Put recordings you like on a playlist to listen to again and again
• All for the price of a single CD per month

Try ArkivMusic Streaming for FREE for two weeks. If you like what you hear, continue your subscription for just $14.95 a month. You can cancel at any time.

Video tutorial on the service (this is more practical, even geeky, not a flashy marketing video):

http://www.youtube.com/v/TWos8hsN9ss

ArkivMusic streaming plays 320 kbps MP3 files. It looks like there are initially releases from Decca, DG, EMI, the Naxos distribution family, and Sony. So right now the list of available recordings for Beethoven's Sonata No. 26 includes Nelson Freire, Gulda/Decca, Pollini, Gilels, Kempff, Lortie, Gieseking, Serkin, Claude Frank, three Alfred Brendels, and Dubravka Tomsic.

More info on ArkivMusic Streaming here.

[Old Listener]

Thanks.  Looks interesting.

[Holden]

Is this for US only?

[Manos]

I tried this for several days in December after some technical problems were resolved by ArkivMusic, but I am underwhelmed. Yes, it is easier than most streaming services to zero in on specific composers or works, but surprisingly few of them are available to stream. Perhaps this will change later. The audio quality is fine. The interface is clean, though the Streaming landing page guides users to featured repertoire, making it harder to locate broader content. The price ($19.95) is steep for such a limited selection. I might try it again in a few months if they offer additional content.

[bigshot]

It is WAY too late in the game for specialty labels to go solo in the streaming market. They need to band together to create full range libraries for a reasonable price. Real humans aren't interested in just one label. They want a wide range of music to choose from.