New streaming services from HP and MusicPax

Computer company Hewlett-Packard (HP) and MusicPax are the latest brands about to offer streaming services.

HP is not about to take Spotify, Pandora or Apple head on. Rather it is just offering its HP Lounge service free for a year to customers in Europe, the Middle East and Africa who buy a new HP computer.

So far HP has only struck a licensing deal with Universal Music Group so its catalogue is somewhat limited. But there’ll be no ads, listeners can search for the music they want to listen to based on the artist, mood and style. They also get access to interviews, news stories and making-of videos from Universal Music acts.

HP’s strategy is to translate millennials’ fascination with streaming to buy their computers. Whether HP Lounge is enough for this age-group to switch to another brand remains to be seen. So far the deal is not extended to Australia.

MusicPax in the meantime has a disruptive new service which it says pays artists 100% more than existing services and contains no advertising nor subscription requirement.

The company said, “At MusicPax, we love music and are tired of seeing artists and consumers have a less than desirable experience in the new world of streaming music. Artists don’t get paid fairly because the money from ads and subscriptions just doesn’t add up and it’s not going to change. Consumers don’t want to pay for a subscription and don’t like ads interrupting their favorite music. For music to thrive, a totally new revenue model is needed to disrupt the ecosystem. MusicPax has created this new model.

“You can stream free music playlists, store your own music to stream to any device, win free stuff and get discounts, subscribe to your favorite artist's personal curated playlists, and experience exclusive content all the while doubling the revenue paid to artists”

MusicPax has launched an IndieGoGo campaign to raise funds for final development of the platform. The campaign is at https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/free-streaming-music-2x-more-money-for-artists. The goal is for 100,000 people each to donate at least $1 or more. Donors receive lifetime status as a “MusicPax Founder” with preferred lifetime access to special services and offers.