Sony to ‘Pull Plug’ on its Connect Music Service

In a statement sent to its Connect Music Service users, Sony announced that it will be shutting down its music service; no exact date was given but it will be happening sometime after March 2008. Its ailing music service has been struggling to attract consumers since its launch in 2004; this is mainly due to Apple Inc.’s stronghold in the digital music marketplace and the lack of uptake for Sony’s proprietary ATRAC audio format.

Sony will now concentrate on making its portable music players compatible with popular audio formats such as, MP3, AAC and WMA. Incidentally, their newest Walkmans, namely the NWZ-A810 and NWZ-S610, are ATRAC-free and highlights the fact that Sony has ditched its ATRAC format.

So, what does this mean for current users who have secure ATRAC files and need future-proof compatibility? One can only hope that a conversion program is made available so users can convert their files into mainstream file formats.