Rhapsody International Inc. and Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc. Bring First Hi-Res Audio Streaming Service to Japan

SEATTLE, Dec. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Rhapsody International Inc. and Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc., or "SMEJ," today announced a partnership to launch the first on demand, high resolution streaming music service in Japan. The premier service allows Japanese music fans to have both the convenience of on-demand and the superior quality of high resolution music.

Rhapsody International is providing its complete "Powered By Napster" platform including a unique set of systems, tools and APIs to allow SMEJ to quickly launch and bring its on-demand service to market.

"Our partnership with Sony Music Entertainment Japan offers the ultimate experience for audio enthusiasts in Japan as they no longer have to choose between a streaming service and high quality audio.  With mora qualitas, fans can now have both for the very first time," said Brian Ringer, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Asia Pacific Region of Rhapsody. "We are committed to accelerating the growth of streaming on a global scale by helping new services like mora qualitas launch quickly as well as enhancing existing services." 

Rhapsody International's platform service offers music companies a suite of technologies and solutions, including media streaming and download infrastructure, applications, rights management, customer billing and royalty calculation capabilities.

"There is a lot of momentum happening in streaming and it's going to keep getting better for consumers and artists with the introduction of mora qualitas, our new global on-demand audio service," said Shigeki Tanaka, Senior Vice President of Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc. "Napster's deep expertise in high resolution audio streaming and industry experience made them the clear choice to partner with us in launching Japan's new premier service."  

Music fans in Japan that subscribe to mora qualitas for 1,980 Yen a month can stream lossless FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec) files at a standard of 24-bit/44.1-96khz (Hi-Resolution)/ 16-bit/44.1khz (CD quality).

Mora qualitas is available for Windows and Macintosh desktop users initially, with many other platforms to follow.

About Rhapsody International Inc.  
Rhapsody International is a pioneer in digital music and leading provider of music streaming technologies and services for businesses. Rhapsody operates the Napster platform in 34 countries with a premium subscription service giving millions of consumers unlimited ad-free access to music on any device – online or offline. Napster combines the iconic history of one of the most recognizable music brands in the world with the vast experience and technological platform of Rhapsody International Inc., the industry's first subscription streaming service provider. Rhapsody is headquartered in Seattle, with offices in the U.S., Europe, Asia and Latin America.

Follow @Napster on Twitter and Facebook, and learn more at www.napster.com.

About Sony Music Entertainment (Japan), Inc.  
Sony Music Entertainment (Japan), or SMEJ, holds all shares and serves as headquarters for the management and administration of all Sony Music Group subsidiaries, while continuing to grow as a diversified entertainment company. Operations include marketing and tie-ins, finding and developing artists, various entertainers and creators, as well as building our businesses abroad. SMEJ strives to continue finding new opportunities for the entertainment business by coordinating the various business resources throughout the Sony Music Group, in areas such as digital content where some of the latest technologies including VR and AI are applied, digital publishing, exhibition design, education, and sports entertainment.

SOURCE Rhapsody International Inc.

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