March 05, 2010

By By Glenn Peoples, L.A.

The UK is getting a first taste of MOG through a hyped ?MOG vs. Spotify? matchup. MOG hopes to launch in the UK by June.

CEO David Hyman explained to The Guardian his company?s advantage over Spotify: ?Where ad-funded services like Spotify end up really blowing through money is that they give away music for free as a vehicle for upselling to subscription. The price they pay to give those tracks away to consumers for free is not getting recouped by ad dollars or by conversions to subscriptions.?

MOG costs $5 per month in the U.S. Hyman says it will likely cost ?5 (about $7.50) per month in the UK because music publishing rates are higher. The company recently announced a $9.5 million round of funding that will enable its UK launch.

One last thing: Merlin?s Charles Caldas says his organization of indie labels is not yet in negotiations with MOG. ?We would be surprised if any service looking to launch a comprehensive site offering their customers a competitive choice of repertoire would think it's sensible to launch without the leading global independent labels we represent ,? he told The Guardian.

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