Universal Tests Online Music Subscription

Universal Music Group is offering an all-you-can-eat music service to a test group of fans, giving them unlimited access to an online jukebox of more than 20,000 songs.

The experiment marks the first time a major record label has tried to distribute music through the Internet on a subscription basis, rather than charging users for each song or CD purchased.

Unlike the subscription services offered by MP3.com and EMusic, however, the Universal approach doesn’t let consumers keep the songs they play--they have to go online and “stream” the songs from a remote computer.

The other major labels, which have been slow to distribute their music through the Internet for fear of piracy, are expected to follow Universal’s lead on subscription services, although probably not until next year. So are a number of other companies, including America Online and upstart FullAudio.

Universal had announced plans to offer music by subscription, so the trial isn’t surprising. Still, the fact that the company has actually started the test is significant, given how many other Internet initiatives Universal has discussed and then abandoned.

It also represents a more potent counterattack by Universal against Napster Inc., the phenomenally popular service that enables consumers to copy music from others’ computers via the Internet. Like Napster--and unlike the other major labels’ music downloading services--Universal’s subscription program gives users easy access to a wide variety of music online.

One of the main shortcomings, though, is that participants in the test program can obtain songs by Universal artists only. The company plans to offer music from Sony artists as well once the testing is complete, but many industry observers believe that a subscription service will need the support of all the major labels to be successful.

The Universal test isn’t open to the public. Participants are being chosen from among the registered users of Jimmy and Doug’s Farmclub.com, a Universal subsidiary and Web-based proving ground for unknown bands.

About 5,000 people ultimately are expected to participate in the trial. Universal isn’t charging the test users, but it plans to collect an unspecified monthly fee when it opens the service to the public.

After logging on, users can search for and listen to the artists, songs or types of music they want. They can also put together and listen to playlists.

Universal hasn’t said how long the trial will last. Ultimately, the company said, it plans to develop versions of the service that allow people to download and keep copies of songs, enabling them to transfer the music to portable players.

The advantage to a streaming-only service is that it can be extremely easy to use. That hasn’t been the case with the major labels’ downloadable songs, which use complex electronic locks to guard against piracy.

The new Universal service uses familiar software from RealNetworks and Microsoft’s Windows Media to transmit and play the songs. The software makes it difficult--but not impossible--to make copies of the songs as they are streamed from the Internet.