Online music database AllMusic.com is changing its name and domain.
Rovi Corp., the company overseeing the site, is replacing AllMusic with a new website called AllRovi.com, which is designed to combine its music database with its TV and film databases for a one-stop shop for all things entertainment.
AllRovi.com launches today in public beta, following a private test period. It's not clear exactly when it will completely replace AllMusic.com.
Virtually every digital music service -- including iTunes, Napster, Pandora, Shazam, Slacker and Spotify -- relies on AllMusic.com to provide a range of information, from artist biographies at the very least to album reviews, catalog data and more.
According to VP of marketing Dave Jordan, those services will continue without interruption, but with some added features to choose from. Elements of the new site include a recommendation tool that lets users find music by mood, genre or time period. Recommended playlists based around themes like "exercise" or "dinner party" are also included. Additionally, there are original blog posts, reviews, streaming samples and links to buy directly on Amazon.com and iTunes.
While existing customers can continue to use the AllRovi data, the company is gunning to generate more Web traffic of its own. Together, AllMusic.com, AllMovie.com and AllGames.com draw a combined three million unique visitors per month, according to the company.
"We think there is a better entertainment experience out there and we want consumers to use our site to learn about it," Jordan says. "Once they experience the richness and features we provide, they might start looking for it in other devices and want to connect where ever they are. Of course that is on top of the benefit to Rovi which is to showcase our data and services as an inspiration to our customers and future developers."
Rovi was formerly known as Macrovision, but changed it to Rovi in 2009. In December, it announced plans to acquire Sonic Solutions for $720 million in a move meant to expand its interest into content distribution (Sonic Solutions owns movie rental and sales service CinemaNow).
Could a music content acquisition be far behind?
Source: Billboard
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