Milk Music, Samsung's streaming service that was launched with a collection of over 13 million songs, can now be accessed through Internet browsers.
The new channel for accessing Milk Music comes as the streaming service turns one year old.
Previously, Milk Music can only be accessed by users of Samsung devices such as smartphones, tablet computers, TVs and smartwatches. Now, Milk Music can be accessed by anyone through creating an account on the service's website.
The browser-based version of the service will be powered by the Slacker Internet radio service, the same one that is behind the app version of Milk Music. Users with the Milk Music app, upon signing in on the browser version of the service, will see that the preferences that they have saved in the app are automatically also saved on the web version.
Milk Music users will have access to music coming from 200 curated radio stations, which are organized according to genre. Samsung, however, has not revealed a complete list of all the artists and albums that users can access through Milk Music on the web.
While the web version and the app version will share many aspects, one notable difference is the interface. While the Milk Music app features a dial-based interface, that of the web version is based on a tuning bar such as that of a radio, with users sliding the bar to switch between songs and genres.
The web version of Milk Music will still allow users to create personalized stations, along with playlists containing their favorite stations and songs for quick playback.
Samsung is facing several rivals in the streaming radio space, including Apple's iTunes Radio and services provided by Pandora, Spotify and Slacker. Some of these rival companies are offering the option of paid subscriptions in exchange for advertisement-free services, but Milk Music is remaining as an advertisement-supported service.
Milk Music's premium option will remove the advertising in Milk Music. In addition, the $3.99 fee for such a subscription will also allow users to skip songs while listening to the streaming music service, a capability that is not allowed in the free version.
Milk Music was limited at first to the Galaxy smartphones of Samsung. The expansion of the service to include access on the Internet allows current Milk Music users to access their accounts through more locations and devices, while at the same time attracting new users to try out the music streaming service.
