Envolver.fm reports that the news emerged during the Rethink Music conference on Tuesday, when MOG CEO David Hyman took the stage.
Hyman said that he had been watching the way European service Spotify functioned, and plans to take a page from its book -- on a smaller scale. Spotify recently limited its free (ad-supported) music selection, but it will still offer 10 hours of music per month starting on May 1.
Right now, you can listen to MOG tunes for 14 days for free, but you have to enter in your credit card number first. The new model will not require a card to join.
We've reached out to MOG for more info, but the bare facts alone signal a pretty big move in the subscription space -- especially with Google and Apple's rumored cloud-based music services looming large. Rival services like Rdio and Rhapsody don't offer freemium plans, and those that do (Pandora and Slacker Radio) offer limited access and don't currently feature on-demanding listening -- although Slacker will be introducing that feature soon.
We wonder if with this barrier to entry (i.e.: having to pay right off the bat) removed, MOG will be able to gain a more substantial user base. Spotify has several million users (MOG doesn't report their user count), and one million paying subscribers. For comparison's sake, Rhapsody (one of the only services to report user count) has 750,000 users.
What do you think? Does MOG's upcoming freemium offer entice you?