iTunes offers instant purchases, Spotify is your customisable radio station, and Last.fm is the place to both listen to streamed music and broaden your collection with their suggested listening service. So what could Sky Songs offer that hasn’t been done before?

Sky Songs has chosen to go with a hybrid between Spotify and iTunes, streaming your music through your PC/Mac but charging for the privelage. The unique value that Sky Songs seems to offer is an editorial element that guides and informs, and the opportunity to tap into social media networks.

The free Spotify model means that all you must put up with is a few ads, but it doesn’t make sense to pay £6.49 per month for practicaly the same service from Sky. The subscription does cover a facility to download an album once a month, but I want to just listen, without feeling I must also download to justify my subscription.

Sky Songs is appearing on Microsoft’s Xbox360 for TV content, but even here Last.fm has pipped it to the post for music streaming. Sky should stop trying to be jack of all trades and stick to being the master of one: TV.

Jason Holland, Marketing Magazine