Boinc Ready For U.S., U.K. Launch

Ready To Roll

NEWS CORP.'s new music streamer, BEYOND OBLIVION, is set to roll out this week in the U.S. and U.K., as an alternative to SPOTIFY and iTUNES. The service will rebrand itself as BOINC.

U.K.'s THE GUARDIAN reports, "unlike existing online music players, BOINC will be built in to a range of PCs and smartphones, meaning that it is free at the point of access for some listeners. BOINC has reportedly secured deals with a leading PC maker and a smartphone manufacturer to carry the service. The service will also be available as a paid-for application on iPHONE and ANDROID smartphones."

BOINC Founder/CEO ADAM KIDRON told THE GUARDIAN in MARCH that "negotiations with the four major record labels -- UNIVERSAL, WARNER MUSIC, SONY and EMI were at a very advanced stage. However, those talks were reported to have stalled after the labels asked for a larger upfront payment for access to their vast music catalogues. BOINC will pay 70% of its annual revenues to the rights holders, as well as a royalty fee each time their music is played."

NEWS CORP. has invested $9.2 million for a 23% stake in BOINC.

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