Sprint Music Plus Debuts, Powered By RealNetworks

Does the mobile realm really need another way to download music? Competition is almost always a good thing for consumers, but we're guessing that Sprint's new service will have a tough time rivaling the likes of iTunes. Sprint Music Plus is the new service, powered by RealNetworks and capable of delivering ringtones and songs. All of the content is DRM-free, and Sprint will be selling bundles that include full track music, albums, ringtones and ringback tones for between $0.69 and $1.29 per song.

The service allows users to create music playlists, assign ringback tones for different callers, organize artists / tracks, preview content and get new recommendations based on musical taste. The app will run natively on Android and BlackBerry, but there's also a web portal for accessing it on other handsets. Any takers on Sprint's new service? Anyone, anyone?


Rock Out No Matter Where You Go - New Sprint Music Plus Application Provides Access to Full Music Tracks, Ringtones, Ringback Tones and More on Sprint Phones

Want your music downloaded FAST? The Sprint 4G network enables downloading music up to 10 times faster than 3G1

OVERLAND PARK, Kan., Apr 12, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) --

Most people never leave home without their mobile phone, although they may leave behind their MP3 player. Now you can share your musical tastes with those around you - or those who call you - with Sprint Music Plus, a new music application, accessed either on a Sprint phone or sprint.com, which serves as a single, convenient destination for customers to discover, purchase and play individual and bundled offers of full track music, albums, ringtones and ringback tones.

Sprint Music Plus, powered by RealNetworks(R) Inc. (Nasdaq: RNWK), is a full-featured music and tone manager, which allows users to:

    * Create music playlists.
    * Assign ringback tones to play for different callers and times of day.
    * Search for music by artist, title or keyword.
    * Organize full tracks/albums by artist, genre and custom playlists using the music library manager.
    * Preview content - sample millions of music tracks and tones, which are updated daily.
    * Get new music recommendations based on their musical tastes.

Love a new song and want the full track, ringtone and ringback tone? Customers can save money when buying a bundle of all three products with just one click. DRM-free full tracks range from $0.69 to $1.29 per song. Customers are conveniently charged right on their Sprint bill.

"Sprint Music Plus is an easy way for our customers to discover new music and tones and manage all of their music content in one convenient place," said Sean Khurana, vice president-Consumer Product Marketing at Sprint. "Sprint makes sure our customers always have access to their favorite music by providing a wide array of options, ranging from free apps downloaded from Android Market(TM), BlackBerry App World(TM) or GetJar.com to Sprint Radio to purchasing tunes from Sprint Music Plus."

Everyone is busy these days and the last thing we have time for is to wait for our music to download. The Sprint 4G network offers one of the fastest wireless experiences among all U.S. national wireless carriers and enables downloading music up to 10 times faster than 3G. Sprint 4G, available today in 71 markets across the country, was the first national carrier to offer wireless 4G service.

Sprint Music Plus is available for Android(TM) powered Sprint smartphones from the Sprint Zone app and can be found on the home screen of BlackBerry(R) and Java Feature Phones launched after May 2010. Devices introduced before May 2010 will have access to ringtones and ringback tones from Sprint Music Plus via Sprint Mobile Web (WAP). For more information and to download the application, visit http://sprint.us/smp on your Sprint phone. 
Tags:  itunes, music, DRM, Sprint