mog

I'm a big proponent of cloud-based music services for mobile devices. I struggle figuring out which 500 songs I want on my 8GB iPhone at any given time, and the problem gets worse as as I download more apps. So it's gratifying to see an explosion of mobile music services in the last six months. Start-ups and established companies alike seem to believe that the current model, where users transfer songs from a computer to their phone using a wired connection, is not long for this world. Instead, these companies are coming up with various ways to dispense … Read more

This week, Donald and Jasmine praise an ultratiny music system with big sound and an innovative design. Also, Donald tries to persuade DJs that vinyl turntables aren't the be-all, end-all to music entertainment; UMG makes a last ditch effort to save CDs; and Jasmine shakes her head in shame at Samsung's choices. Also, SanDisk launches the 32GB microSD card--anyone need a 48GB Clip+?

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If you manage to sit through 45 tedious seconds about Donald and Jasmine's collective weakened immune systems, you'll be rewarded with plentiful Zune HD 2 speculation, a tidy little rant on music caching for the iPhone and iPod Touch, and a lament about the name of music service MOG. Also this week, the MP3 Insiders express nostalgic delight over SubPop coming to eMusic, and Jasmine shamelessly plugs her new Tech Dos & Don'ts column.

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AUSTIN, Texas--Music service Mog unveiled its first mobile application in a press conference Monday as part of the South by Southwest Interactive Festival. Called Mog All Access for Mobile, it'll be coming out as a $10/month subscription for the iPhone and Android platforms this spring and will feature access to on-demand streams of 7 million songs, radio stations, and what founder and CEO David Hymon described as "unlimited downloads to the phone, as part of the subscription, in ways that really succeed what others have done."

Downloads through the Mog app are possible even through the … Read more

Bill Gates has said that prognosticators often overestimate the amount of technological change that will happen in a year, but underestimate the changes that will take place over a decade. With the Zeroes coming to an end this week, and Steve Guttenberg's recent column questioning the viability of recorded music in 2020 as inspiration, here's my pick of 10 trends in music and technology that will shape the next decade.

Songs instead of albums Musicians will always find ways to record their music--it's a fundamental drive, like painting for a painter or writing for a writer. But … Read more

I had a fascinating conversation with MediaNet CEO Alan McGlade on Friday morning. Unless you're deeply involved in online music, you probably don't know MediaNet, but it's the back end powering a lot of music services you might have used, including MOG's subscription service that launched earlier this week, as well as Microsoft's excellent Zune Pass subscription service and iLike's online music marketplace. (MySpace acquired iLike in August, and in November, links to iLike's service began appearing directly in music-related search results on Google.)

They've also got more history in online music … Read more

MOG offered me a free trial to its subscription-based streaming music service, MOG All Access, which launched on Tuesday. The service costs five bucks a month, and gives you unlimited on-demand streams of more than six million songs from all four major labels and plenty of indies. The site is trying to differentiate itself from competitors like Rhapsody and Napster with high-quality streams--all songs are 320kbps MP3s--and some fairly sophisticated music discovery features, like playlists posted by musicians (David Byrne got the featured spot on the day of launch) and other fans with similar tastes to yours ("Moggers like … Read more

Jasmine and Donald discuss the implications of MOG's new $5 music service and lament Spotify's disappointingly slow start in the States. Also, Jasmine falls in love with a tiny speaker that is oh-so-wallet-friendly, and we give props to the Ultimate Holiday Gift Guide. You'll also get treated to some off-the-cuff gift suggestions from the esteemed audio editors. Finally, a listener tip on shaking up your iPod's Shuffle.

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If free ad-supported music services aren't going to make it financially, what about paid subscription services? Rhapsody and RealNetworks continue to soldier along, but RealNetworks is apparently looking for investors to take some portion of the Rhapsody business off its hands, and we haven't heard much about Napster since Best Buy, which acquired it a little over a year ago, slashed subscription prices in May in a bid to build membership.

Soon, there will be another competitor in the market: MOG. The company has offered a kind of music blog site with a social-networking spin for a couple … Read more