The service runs Rhapsody's Napster technology under the hood and will initially run on Macs and Windows PCs, although there are promises of support for "many other platforms" in the future.

Mora Qualitas could fare better than Spotify and other rival both through the support of a domestic giant like Sony as well as its aim at an underserved audience. It still faces a slew of challenges, though. Music licensing is much trickier in Japan, and it might not go far if Sony and Rhapsody can't promise a deep catalog. More importantly, the Japanese music scene has historically thrived on physical collectibles, including discs. Unless Sony and Rhapsody can convince J-pop fans that it's easier to stream a hot new single than to rush to the store, they might not fare any better than their predecessors.