Milk Music was previously only available to users of Samsung’s smartphones, tablets, TVs and smartwatches, but from Monday onward everyone with access to a web browser will be able to use it. New users must simply create an account on Samsung’s website in order to stream content from Milk Music.
Curated streaming radio
Samsung launched the Milk Music app for smartphones one year ago, with a catalog of 13 million songs. The web-based Milk Music will be powered by the same well-regarded Slacker Internet radio service as the app version, and app users will find that their preferences are automatically available on the web player.
Users will be able to enjoy music from 200 curated radio stations, organized by genres. Samsung has not disclosed a detailed list of artists or albums which are available on the service.
One difference between the web version and the app is the interface. Instead of the dial interface with which app users are familiar, the web-based version features a tuning bar, reminiscent of a radio, which users manipulate in order to change between genres and songs.
The service allows users to create custom stations, as well as playlists of their preferred songs and stations for easy playback.
Samsung’s Milk Music in a crowded market
Milk Music is not short of rivals in the streaming radio arena, and will enter into competition with Apple’s iTunes Radio, as well as other companies such as Slacker, Pandora and Spotify. While some rivals offer the option of ad-free paid subscriptions, Samsung’s Milk Music is ad supported.
Samsung’s service does include a premium option, but it will not rid Milk Music of advertising. Instead, users have the option of paying a fee of $3.99 per month which will enable them to skip songs.
Internet streaming is of increasing concern to traditional media companies. Television network HBO announced today that it will launch a web-streaming service in April, which will be available exclusively to users of Apple devices.
