Yahoo's Music Stays at $5; Big Ad Campaign

Reuters: Yahoo's music subscription service, Yahoo Unlimited, which was launched in beta in May for a promotion price of $5 per month, will stay at that price when it is formally launched tomorrow. This keeps the service's price below competitors like RealNetworks and Napster (though I would venture to say that Rhapsody, at $24 a quarter, is still a far superior service).
When the service was launched, many analysts said that after the introductory period, the price would be increased. Anyway, I have it from reliable sources that the initial feedback and pickup from users is lower than company expectations, and some of the aggressive pricing decision may have stemmed from that.
With the full launch, Yahoo is launching a big TV ad campaign...The campaign debuts on August 28 during the MTV Video Music Awards with the tagline "Over A Million Songs - 5 Bucks A Month - This Is Huge." Commercials will air on MTV and Comedy Central. Yahoo has also planned ads in a new video game from Midway Games and other nontraditional campaign efforts.

Related:

-- Our Coverage: Yahoo Music Unlimited

-- Interview: Dave Goldberg, VP & GM, Yahoo Music -- Excerpts