14 
After the success of the BBC iPlayer, giving licence-fee payers free access to the BBC’s content online, the Beeb’s trying to do the same but for streaming music. “Playlister” will apparently allow you to stream hundred of thousands of music tracks without having to pay a penny. Free streaming music? Yes please.
Details beyond the above are a bit sketchy still. Apparently Playlister will take the form of a Spotify analogue, with a vast library of tracks ready to stream on demand. Interestingly, the BBC is seemingly in talks with its potential rivals like Spotify too, to try and negotiate some sort of content sharing deal. That would help the BBC avoid the “stop trampling all over competing services” shouts that would likely come if it just went ahead and blitzed the other players in the market with the unbeatable price of free. Well, no extra fees, we’re paying for it through the licence fee, I guess.
Of course, the BBC already has deep relationships with music labels, thanks to the plethora of radio stations it operates, so perhaps Playlister will leverage those grab streaming rights too? Whichever way you swing it, if the BBC is able to provide licence-fee payers (that’s everyone in the UK) with free music streaming, I’m certainly not going to argue. Let’s just hope Playlister makes it onto phones as well, then Spotify really will be in trouble. [The Telegraph]
The BBC Launches a Dedicated iPlayer For Radio
BBC Bringing iPlayer to Sky Boxes
BBC iPlayer Content Now Playing Nicely With Sky+ Boxes
Hold on, How exactly does this fit within the BBC’s remit? there are already plenty of calls for it’s music stations to be privatised, so why should it spend licence payers money on providing another free music service. I would certainly use this if it existed, but I don’t see how they can do it.
Aunty already streams her radio stations, so maybe she already has the licences and this is just a case of building a back end for it?
Yeah, I can’t see another licence being required for this. It could be a good way for unsigned music makers to get exposed to a bigger audience too.
But surely the BBC licence covers broadcast. If it is going to be like spotify and allow you to chose the tracks that’s a different kind of licence.
yeah, like when they have to cut the music out of podcasts.
Sounds a bit like the “digital curriculum” all over again; which was a great idea canned after many millions were spent. Spend the money first and then ask the questions about competition. The BBC loves to waste licence fee money doesnt it!
The BBC should get into the smartphone and tablet business….
Think about it, budget smartphones and tablets for developing parts of the world, all with iPlayer built in.
Except you can’t use iplayer outside of the UK unless you… SHHHH! go through a proxy.
The BBC iPhone, oh, wait.
And every British license fee payer should be made legacy shareholders. We’ll be gazillionaires after we topple Apple, Google and Microsoft. Whippey!
Now all we have to do is collectively design an operating system. Anyone got a biro?