Yahoo reveals new music site Launch

Portal giant Yahoo have moved into the online music market with its new site Launch.  


It's based in America, so all news, interviews and reviews will always lean to what's happening in the States - although when we last visited rumours of the Sex Pistols re-forming for a tour next summer featured prominently on the news page.


The opinions expressed are sharp and witty, and the interviews boast mini-sections on the artist's discography - from where you can buy albums - and links to previous reviews. Every section of the site leads you effortlessly into another related section, a user-friendliness aided by the site's design which is flashy and glossy, but not needlessly gimmicky.


But the site's trump card is the subscription service Pressplay, which provides on-demand access to hundreds of music downloads and the ability for users to burn CDs. Unfortunately, it is currently only available in America


The same goes for LaunchCast, a wildly inventive service which allows you to create your own music station based on your music tastes. You influence the play-listing by rating songs to indicate your preferences, banning songs you never want to hear, and adding tracks the site considers will be to your taste.


Yahoo hope to get Launch's subscription services up and running in Britain some time later this year. The sooner, the better, because at the moment it's a frustrating - but enthralling - glimpse of the future of online music presentation.