MOG (online music)
Encyclopedia
MOG is a paid subscription online music service
and blog network
, where users can listen to, read about, and discover music. Users can play any song in MOG's catalog on their computer through their web browser; on their mobile device through MOG's applications for the iPhone
, iPod Touch
, and Android platform; via the multi-room Sonos
system, and on their television
through MOG's channel on the Roku Digital Video Player
, Boxee Box
. MOG also allows users to access aggregated editorial content from thousands of music blogs, user posts, and in-house editors.
MOG was founded by David Hyman, former CEO of Gracenote
, former SVP of Marketing at MTV Interactive, and former Director of Ad Sales for Addicted to Noise
. MOG is a privately-held company headquartered in Berkeley, CA. The company has raised $24.9 million in capital from a variety of sources, including Balderton Capital, Menlo Ventures
, Simon Equity, Universal Music Group
, and Sony Music. Famed music producer Rick Rubin
is a member of MOG's board of directors
.
In late 2007, MOG partnered with Rhapsody
to allow Rhapsody subscribers to access all of Rhapsody's content through MOG.
In August 2008, MOG launched the MOG Music Network, a music ad network that aggregates posts from affiliate blogs and those created by MOG's in-house music editors.
In December 2009, MOG launched its own subscription music service, which allows subscribers to stream any song in MOG's catalog on-demand to their computer through their web browser. In July 2010, MOG released mobile applications for the iPhone, iPod Touch, and Android phones, allowing subscribers to also access MOG's catalog from these devices. In September 2010, MOG announced the release of a Roku channel, which enables subscribers to access the service from their television.
MOG Radio, accessible through any of the platforms mentioned above, automatically generates a continuous play queue based on the artist chosen by the user. By adjusting a 'slider' within the MOG player (pictured at right) between Artist Only and Similar Artists, the user determines whether the radio plays only songs by the selected artist, or whether and how often songs by similar artists are added to the queue. When the user's song selection ends, MOG Radio begins to play and continues until the user makes another selection.
Two different subscription plans are currently available. A $5/month plan allows users to access MOG through the web and through the Roku channel, and a $10/month plan allows access though these platforms and through supported mobile devices.
New subscribers to MOG are currently allowed a free 14-day trial.
The MOG Music Network is a music blog network that aggregates original content (written by in-house editors) and syndicated content from over 1,300 affiliate blogs. Affiliates sign up in order to reach MOG's sizable base of visitors (38 million monthly unique visitors in the US, as of April 2011), who click through from blog post excerpts on MOG to read the full post on the affiliate site.
Online music store
An online music store is an online business which sells audio files, usually music, on a per-song and/or subscription basis. It may be differentiated from music streaming services in that the music store offers the actual music file, while streaming services offer partial or full listening without...
and blog network
Blog network
A blog network is a group of blogs that are connected to each other in a network. A blog network can either be a group of loosely connected blogs, or a group of blogs that are owned by the same company. The purpose of such a network is usually to promote the other blogs in the same network and...
, where users can listen to, read about, and discover music. Users can play any song in MOG's catalog on their computer through their web browser; on their mobile device through MOG's applications for the iPhone
IPhone
The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
, iPod Touch
IPod Touch
The iPod Touch is a portable media player, personal digital assistant, handheld game console, and Wi-Fi mobile device designed and marketed by Apple Inc. The iPod Touch adds the multi-touch graphical user interface to the iPod line...
, and Android platform; via the multi-room Sonos
Sonos
Sonos is a consumer electronics company based in Santa Barbara, California. It was founded in 2002 by John MacFarlane, who previously founded Software.com. The company’s main product is the Sonos Multi-Room Music System.-History:...
system, and on their television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
through MOG's channel on the Roku Digital Video Player
Roku
Roku , is an American, privately held, consumer electronics company that sells home digital media products. The Company is based in Saratoga, California.- Company profile and products :...
, Boxee Box
Boxee Box
Boxee Box by D-Link is a Linux-based set-top device and media extender that first began shipping in 33 countries worldwide on the 10th of November 2010...
. MOG also allows users to access aggregated editorial content from thousands of music blogs, user posts, and in-house editors.
MOG was founded by David Hyman, former CEO of Gracenote
Gracenote
Gracenote, Inc., formerly called CDDB , is a company that maintains and licenses an Internet-accessible database containing information about the contents of audio compact discs and vinyl records. It provides software and metadata to businesses that enable their customers to manage and search...
, former SVP of Marketing at MTV Interactive, and former Director of Ad Sales for Addicted to Noise
Addicted to Noise
Addicted to Noise was an online music magazine in the early days of the World Wide Web. Founded by ex-Rolling Stone editor and writer Michael Goldberg and online music pioneer Jon Luini, it published its first issue in January 1995 and was the first online magazine to include audio samples along...
. MOG is a privately-held company headquartered in Berkeley, CA. The company has raised $24.9 million in capital from a variety of sources, including Balderton Capital, Menlo Ventures
Menlo Ventures
Menlo Ventures is a venture capital firm located at 3000 Sand Hill Road in Menlo Park, California.The firm was founded as one of the earliest venture capital firms in Silicon Valley in 1976 and provides provides technology venture capital funding for seed, early stage and growth companies...
, Simon Equity, Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group is an American music group, the largest of the "big four" record companies by its commanding market share and its multitude of global operations...
, and Sony Music. Famed music producer Rick Rubin
Rick Rubin
Frederick Jay "Rick" Rubin is an American record producer and the co-president of Columbia Records. Along with Russell Simmons, Rubin was the co-founder of Def Jam Records and also established American Recordings...
is a member of MOG's board of directors
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
.
History
Founded in June 2005, MOG began as a music-themed social network and blog network. Users could create profiles with information about their music tastes, and the now-discontinued MOG-O-MATIC client application assisted in the process by scanning users' music libraries and populating their profiles with information about their music collection and listening activities. MOG would also recommend users with similar music tastes, and users were able to compose blog posts, read posts composed by other users, and listen to 30-second samples of songs.In late 2007, MOG partnered with Rhapsody
Rhapsody (online music service)
Rhapsody is an online music store subscription service, launched in December 2001, and available in the United States only. On April 6, 2010, Rhapsody officially declared its independence from RealNetworks. Downloaded files come with restrictions on their use, enforced by Helix, Rhapsody's version...
to allow Rhapsody subscribers to access all of Rhapsody's content through MOG.
In August 2008, MOG launched the MOG Music Network, a music ad network that aggregates posts from affiliate blogs and those created by MOG's in-house music editors.
In December 2009, MOG launched its own subscription music service, which allows subscribers to stream any song in MOG's catalog on-demand to their computer through their web browser. In July 2010, MOG released mobile applications for the iPhone, iPod Touch, and Android phones, allowing subscribers to also access MOG's catalog from these devices. In September 2010, MOG announced the release of a Roku channel, which enables subscribers to access the service from their television.
Features
MOG is an ad-free subscription service that allows users to access MOG's catalog of 11 million songs on their computer, iPhone, iPod Touch, Android phone, Sonos system and television (through MOG's Roku channel). (As of October 2011, a MOG app for Squeezebox is in beta.) Users can stream any song in MOG's catalog on-demand to any of these devices, and can download as many songs as will fit on their mobile device for playback within the MOG mobile application. By default, web streams are 320 or 256 kbps mp3 files and mobile streams are 64 kbps AAC files. Users choose whether mobile downloads are 'high-quality' 320 or 256 kbps mp3 files or 64 kbps AAC files.MOG Radio, accessible through any of the platforms mentioned above, automatically generates a continuous play queue based on the artist chosen by the user. By adjusting a 'slider' within the MOG player (pictured at right) between Artist Only and Similar Artists, the user determines whether the radio plays only songs by the selected artist, or whether and how often songs by similar artists are added to the queue. When the user's song selection ends, MOG Radio begins to play and continues until the user makes another selection.
Two different subscription plans are currently available. A $5/month plan allows users to access MOG through the web and through the Roku channel, and a $10/month plan allows access though these platforms and through supported mobile devices.
New subscribers to MOG are currently allowed a free 14-day trial.
The MOG Music Network is a music blog network that aggregates original content (written by in-house editors) and syndicated content from over 1,300 affiliate blogs. Affiliates sign up in order to reach MOG's sizable base of visitors (38 million monthly unique visitors in the US, as of April 2011), who click through from blog post excerpts on MOG to read the full post on the affiliate site.