we7
 |
|
| URL | www.we7.com |
|---|---|
| Type of site | Music Streaming |
| Registration | Free, required for streaming, required to create playlists |
| Owner | We7 Ltd |
| Launched | Download site: April 2007[1][2] Streaming site: November 11th 2008[3] DJ service: September 2011 |
| Revenue | Advertising |
| Current status | Active |
we7 is a free, advertising supported, music streaming service, with over 6.8 million tracks available for streaming in the UK and Ireland, with content from all four major record labels, and most independent labels and distributors. Most tracks and albums are also available to purchase from the in-site store. Outside the UK and Ireland, it has limited content.
Songs streamed on we7 have a short audio advert, or blipvert, that plays before each song. This is usually combined with a change in the advert on the page, with the intent of the audio advert drawing attention to the clickable advert.
The site claims it had 3 million tracks available for streaming at launch,[3] claimed 500 thousand users and 3.5 million tracks in March 2009 [4] and currently claims over 3 million users and 6.8 million tracks.[5]
[edit] New DJ service
At the end of September 2011, We7 changed from an on demand service to a music DJ service. This opened up a new premium service offer as well as a new logo and site layout. This stopped the free choice of songs that was previously the We7 service and opened a recommended music player instead which plays related songs and artists. Free users get a 50 limit of requests to add to the radio queue. The idea behind this new redio system is stated in the How it Works section of the About Us page on We7. "We believe what you like is more important than what you know. So you don't have to trawl a massive catalogue - all you need to do is enter a single song, artist or genre to get started." When a user registers to the site, they will get unlimited music access and 50 song requests a month, however, we7 ran a promotion at launch where existing users at the time were given 50 per day. The old structure of the website can still be visited at subscription.we7.com but is only available to play the full tracks when the user subscribes to premium membership.
[edit] History
In October 2008, the site shifted focus to music streaming,[6] initially with content from Sony BMG,[7] including a change of design that integrated a persistent music player in the page, allowing the music to continue to play while users browse the site.
Since the full launch in November 2008, the site has had various promotions and exclusives. In February 2009 it partnered with NME to provide streaming music widgets on their article pages,[8] and in March it introduced an exclusive 'listening party' preview of Dutch singer Alain Clark's[9] debut UK single 'Father & Friend', followed by an exclusive version of his album the week after.
In February 2010 we7 embraced the freemium business model by offering an advert-free service for a monthly subscription.[10]
[edit] Features
The main feature of the site was for streaming full tracks without requiring registration. However as of 2011, users have to register for free to listen to a song, otherwise just a 30 second preview is provided. Registration is also required for advanced features such as making playlists, and purchasing music.
The site also has an editorial section titled the 'Magazine', which has featured interviews with artists and occasionally runs competitions, such as the recent Metro Station competition.[11]
[edit] Financial Performance
On Wednesday 6 October 2010, we7 posted losses of £3.6 million. The company claimed that market conditions, the collapse of the banking sector and the ongoing nervousness of the music industry caused the losses. The Guardian had reported earlier in 2010 that We7 had become profitable, using adverts to cover both running costs and payments to labels, which made it the first music streaming company to do so with UK operations. [12] We7 says 2011 is going better and aims to perform well this year.
[edit] iPhone App
On the 18th February, 2010, we7 launched its iPhone App. Only users with a "premium plus" account are able to use the application. There was some criticism of the app, because the premium plus account was not launched until 1 March 2010.
[edit] Android App
On the 20th September, 2010, We7 launched its Android App. Only users with a "premium plus" account are able to use the application, although there is a free 2 week trial when first using the service.[13] We7 later added a new update/new app to the Android Market which can be used by free accounts to access the radio station part of We7, but it still offers caching and users can cache stations; the service is called We7 Radio Plus.
[edit] References
- ^ "The Register - 'Peter Gabriel takes sledgehammer to music downloads (again)'". http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/04/30/we7_music_downloads/.
- ^ "BBC News - 'Rock star pioneers free music site'". 2007-06-05. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6720261.stm. Retrieved 2010-01-06.
- ^ a b "Pocket-lint.com - 'Ad Supported We7 Launches Full Service'". http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/news.phtml/19101/20125/ad-supported-we7-launches-full-service.phtml.
- ^ "Music Week - 'We7 hits back'". http://www.musicweek.com/story.asp?storyCode=1037103§ioncode=1.
- ^ "Media Week - 'We7 moves beyond UK with Irish launch'". http://www.mediaweek.co.uk/news/1049725/We7-moves-beyond-UK-Irish-launch/.
- ^ "Music Ally - 'We7 shifts focus from free downloads to free streams'". http://musically.com/blog/2008/10/15/we7-shifts-focus-from-free-downloads-to-free-streams/.
- ^ Sony joins We7 to make music free
- ^ 'We7 announces NME.com tie up'
- ^ New on We7 - 23.03.09
- ^ we7 Launches New Premium Subscription Service
- ^ Metro Station Competition Page
- ^ Guardian, We7 shows ad-funded model can work for online music
- ^ we7 launches full Android app with free trial.
