Sony has begun a roll-out of its “cloud-based” music streaming service with an initial launch in the UK and Ireland, in what it hopes will be a challenge to Apple and Google as digital music moves from hard drives to the internet.

Sony’s Music Unlimited service, unveiled on Wednesday, offers access to 6m songs through the Japanese company’s internet-linked televisions, Blu-ray video players, PlayStation game consoles and Vaio personal computers. Kazuo Hirai, executive vice-president in charge of Sony’s network business, said the service would be offered only on Sony hardware for the first few years, though the company might later make it compatible with products from other manufacturers.

“In the short term, we want to increase the appeal of Sony devices,” he said. “Eventually, the business will have to stand on its own.”