While music fans have been walloped with an endless array of streaming options that deliver instant access to their favourite Justin Bieber and Elton John tracks, Stingray Digital (T.RAY.A) says all of those services fall short of expectations.
Just a few weeks after Apple Music launched in Canada, the Montreal-based company plans to unveil its latest play for the consumer music market, a commercial-free mobile phone app called Stingray Vibes.
The service, which starts in late July, will connect listeners to more than 1,500 channels of non-stop music from seemingly every genre.
Unlike on-demand music services, users can't pick the specific tracks they want to hear, but Stingray chief executive Eric Boyko says that's actually a selling point for people used to traditional radio.
The company has a staff of curators who scour the depths of catalogues for hits and hidden gems and then deliver them in a steady flow of music catered to specific tastes.
Even though Boyko is aiming for the mainstream market, Stingray will have to make a lot of noise to get noticed. The number of subscription streaming services has spiked in Canada over the past few years as listeners expect to assert more control over what they hear.
Spotify and Tidal are the most recent arrivals to the group, which already included Google Play Music, Songza, Rdio and Deezer.
Stingray hopes to squeeze into the market by pairing its streaming service with telecom companies who will sell the subscription as part of a bundle of wireless add-ons for $9.99 per month.
Stingray shares climbed 19 cents, or 2.8%, late Thursday morning to $6.90, within a 52-week trading range of $6.55 to $8.58.
