Sony BMG planning iPod-compatible subscription music service

Speaking with German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Sony BMG Music Entertainment CEO Rolf Schmidt-Holtz has said that the company is developing an online music subscription service that would give users unlimited access to its music and would be compatible with all digital music players, including the iPod. Although he did not offer a timeline for the service’s roll out, Schmidt-Holtz did say that the simplest way to charge for the service would be a flat rate fee of $9 to $12 per month, and that it was “even possible that clients could keep some songs indefinitely, that they would own them even after the subscription expired.” Schmidt-Holtz also said the company was in talks with other music distributors but did not clarify with whom, adding that it is possible that mobile phone operators might also be considered as partners, letting their users download songs to their phones. Last week, it was reported that Apple was negotiating with major music labels to offer an unlimited music rental service.