Sony Music Entertainment Japan has launched its Mora Qualitas hi-res streaming service, working with Rhapsody International (through its ‘Powered by Napster’ B2B business). Plans for the service were actually announced in December 2018, but it’s taken 10 months for the ‘formal’ launch of the service to happen.
Mora Qualitas is offering FLAC-quality streaming, with Sony Music’s hi-res catalogue accompanied by tracks from Universal Music Japan, Warner Music Japan, Victor Entertainment and other labels.
One curious aspect: 10 months on from the original announcement, Mora Qualitas is still only available through Windows and Mac computers: Sony and Rhapsody say that iOS and Android mobile apps are “coming soon”.
The service will cost ¥1,980 a month (around $18.50), so double the price of standard-resolution streaming services like Spotify in Japan. The debut of Mora Qualitas follows Amazon’s recent launch of Amazon Music HD in Japan, as well as other countries.