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Wireless Federation » archive for 'Mobile Music'

Nokia ‘Comes With Music’ to provide unlimited music downloads (UK)

  • September 2nd, 2008
  • 6:48 am

Nokia’s mobile music services, Comes With Music, which will be launching in UK next month, and in continental Europe and Asia next year.
Nokia is joining hands with mobile retailer Carphone Warehouse, which has more than 800 shops and is Apple’s sole independent distributor of the iPhone in UK, to stock the phone.
Nokia’s purpose is to compete with Apple iPhone and iTunes music service.
Carphone will start selling Apple’s 3G iPhone on pay-as-you-go deals from later this month.
Buyers of the Nokia handset will be getting unlimited music downloads for a year and will then have to pay a monthly subscription fee to retain the service.
Unlike other unlimited music services, if users choose not to buy a new device after a year, they can store and keep all the tracks already downloaded, and will also still be able to send texts and make calls.
   

MOTOMUSIC a complete mobile music ecosystem for Airtel mobile users (India)

  • August 20th, 2008
  • 9:34 am

Motorola is in collaboration with Bharti Airtel to offer MOTOMUSIC. MOTOMUSIC is a mobile music service on the web and WAP only for Airtel Mobile users across India. MOTOMUSIC offers around 350,000 downloadable and its content includes ringtones, full songs, wallpapers and music video clips. This will provide a complete mobile music ecosystem for Airtel consumers to enjoy their favourite tunes anytime, anywhere by accessing the online music portal The service also offers MUSIC ID application on Motorola phones, which enables users to identify recorded songs and their music artists, and download the songs instantly from the MOTOMUSIC website, according to the Company.

“It gives us great pleasure to build on our relationship with Bharti Airtel. Through this alliance, we will complement our strengths to offer consumers a wide choice of rich media content through a simple, easy-to-use service,” Faisal Siddiqui, director, product and solutions, India and South West Asia, Motorola Mobile Devices, said.

“We are delighted to partner with Motorola to bring MOTOMUSIC to the Airtel user. We recognise the intuitive appeal of music and believe that this will further underline our commitment to enrich the experience of all Airtel consumers,” said Sanjay Gupta, chief marketing officer, mobile services, Airtel.

This service will be available to all Bharti Airtel customers using ‘Airtel Live’ through GPRS settings on their mobile phones. Currently, fee for full song download is Rs.20 and for wall papers is Rs. 15.

Vodafone and MTV launches Vodafone Soundbites

  • August 12th, 2008
  • 6:17 am

To explore every facet of the global music scene, Vodafone Soundbites is launched by Vodafone and MTV. Vodafone soundbites bring out a behind the scenes gossip into the world of music. It will be available on TV via a website and on mobile as a series of twenty one, three minute shows from early August. The website and mobile service will carry additional footage, as well as editorial and news elements. Vodafone Soundbites will be available in seven languages on MTV in Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Turkey, the UK and Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and on the MTV European feed, covering sixteen countries.
“Through our partnership with MTV, Vodafone is successfully building on its long-lasting music heritage and continues to bring music to its customers whenever they want it, wherever they are. Vodafone Soundbites is a pioneering multiplatform communications show, will be delivered in 29 countries and will allow millions of fans to experience music on mobile through Vodafone and its partners’ high speed, reliable networks, online and TV.” said David Wheldon, Global Brand Director, Vodafone.

O2 UK launches My Play Music Store With Sony BMG (UK)

  • August 8th, 2008
  • 6:29 am

O2 UK, following the footsteps of Vodafone, will now be doing a music play of it’s own with Sony BMG. MyPlay is now added to its O2 Active portal, that offers videos, full-track downloads and realtones in a store. The uniqueness of My Play is that users get to music “simply by clicking on artist microsites as their gateway into the store”.

Sony BMG Music Entertainment UK chair Ged Doherty: “The exciting thing about this service is that its artist micro-sites (bring the artist and consumer closer together).” Track purchases cost £0.99 ($1.93), or videos for £1.50 and tones for £3.50. The store will spotlight new Sony BMG releases.

   

Vodafone launches Vodafone Music

  • August 6th, 2008
  • 12:26 pm

Vodafone subscribers can now buy music whenever and wherever they want, as Vodafone has launches Vodafone Music. This will allow subscribers to preview song and if it’s of their choice they can download it directly on their mobile phone.
Once the track is downloaded the song is ready to be played on the mobile phone.
The new music service is fully integrated with Vodafone Live Music Shop and is powered by Real Networks.
Vodafone Music is a smart search engine, in which the subscribers do not really have to put the full title track, artist or name. Another great feature is that user are able to transfer previous purchased track from one handset to ther.
A single download will cost £0.99.

   

Mobile data revenues to reach $100 billion by 2017 - Report

  • August 4th, 2008
  • 5:00 am

According to a new forecast issued by financial intelligence firm SNL Kagan, Mobile data revenues will increase by at an annual growth rate of 16% from $24 billion in 2007 to over $100 billion in 2017. The catlyst behind the expected growth is the recent launch of Apple’s iPhone and other smartphones. SNL Kagan’s forecast is completely in contrast sharply with the firm’s forecast that total wireless service revenues will experience barely a 5 percent CAGR over the same timeframe. According tot he firm’s estimate average data subscribers will grow at a CAGR of 5.8 percent to 249.5 million by 2017, comprising 77 percent of the total wireless subscriber base. During the same period, wireless subscriber totals will grow an average of only 2.9 percent per year.

SNL Kagan predicts wireless subscribers to reach 90 percent per capita penetration by 2017, which will lead to new data services emerging as the primary driver for revenue growth as market saturation nears. By 2017, 62 percent of all subscribers will clinch to messaging and mobile e-mail, mobile web users will grow from 18 percent of subscribers in 2007 to 52 percent of subscribers in 2017. SNL Kagan expects mobile video and TV to see a 10-year CAGR of 22.5 percent, followed by mobile music at 13.1 percent CAGR and mobile gaming at 12.7 percent CAGR.

Worldwide mobile music revenues will exceed $13 billion by 2012

  • July 23rd, 2008
  • 7:41 am

eMarketer has released a new report which claims that Mobile Music revenues will exceed $13 Billion by 2012, up from $2.4 billion in 2007. There are numerous Marketing opportunities in Mobile Music the need is to discover them. Mobile platform works better as a marketing and customer relationship tool than it does as a retail sales channel.

The Mobile Music report analyzes an industry’s continuing struggles to find a path to profitability in the digital age. Given consumers’ reluctance to pay for music on their phones, marketers are seeking new opportunities to partner directly with carriers, labels and even music artists themselves.

 Marketers will account for a greater proportion of spending as the ad-supported model for mobile music gathers steam.

   

Orange offering discounted music as part of new mobile advertising trial

  • March 26th, 2008
  • 9:14 am

Orange is trialling a new ad-funded download service with nearly a million of its users, allowing them to get their hands on free or half-price music.

800,000 will be able to download tracks from a genre of their choice (if their choice is either Rock, Pop, Dance or Urban) for a discounted rate during the three month trial.
Advertisers are being allowed prominent promotion space throughout the buying process, as Orange attempt to encourage more businesses into the mobile advertising arena with ad-funded content.

In addition to the 500 songs being made available, the telecoms giant is planning to expand the trial into other mobile content, including gaming.

   

 

 

Puretracks Announces New DRM-Free Mobile Music Store for the BlackBerry Platform

  • March 12th, 2008
  • 7:52 am

Toronto-based Puretracks, a leading North American digital music provider that partners with Universal, Sony BMG, Warner, EMI, and independent labels worldwide, has developed a new DRM-free mobile music store and service for BlackBerry® smartphones from Research In Motion (RIM).

The Puretracks Mobile Edition music store for BlackBerry, built in conjunction with handset development partner Magnet Mobile Media, will work with all BlackBerry® Pearl™, BlackBerry® Curve™ and BlackBerry® 8800 series smartphones. It is a next-evolution digital music service developed exclusively for wireless handsets using compressed DRM-free AAC/AAC+ file formats. This high-quality digital format is only half the size of MP3 files, significantly reducing the download time and storage capacity required while maintaining CD quality sound. The DRM-free service will make it easy for users to download and play songs on their BlackBerry smartphones.

“When it comes to the wireless world, BlackBerry is at the forefront and we are excited to offer our service on a cutting-edge solution that seamlessly integrates digital music into the wireless space,” notes Andrea Ziegler, Chief Operating Officer of Puretracks. “The Puretracks Mobile music service we have developed for the BlackBerry platform is an innovative mobile music store for North America that employs DRM-free, 64 kb AAC/AAC+ files. For wireless users, this equates to inexpensive airtime costs, smaller storage requirements, and higher music quality.”

A sneak peek of the Puretracks Mobile Edition music service for BlackBerry will be unveiled March 12 at the South By Southwest (SXSW) event in Austin, Texas. A full version of the mobile music service will launch at CTIA Wireless April 1. The new mobile music store, which will debut in the United States with future roll-out plans slated for Canada and other markets, will feature a broad selection of songs from top mainstream and independent artists. Future additions to the Puretracks Mobile Edition music service will include support for Wi-Fi capable handsets, enabling BlackBerry smartphone users to download MP3 files over Wi-Fi connections.

   

 

Mobiles users tune-in to the radio

  • March 1st, 2008
  • 12:54 pm

Music applications have become the fastest growing services on mobile phones, acording to new market research.

The use of MP3 players on mobile phones rose by 78 per cent last year, but that radio via mobile went up by 140 per cent.

Growth has occurred in all 29 countries surveyed, particularly in Latin America and emerging Asia regions, where 45 per cent of users list FM/AM radio as one of their top three choices for purchasing a mobile phone.

“Radio-enabled mobiles take away the need to have a separate music device like an MP3 player and should lead phone manufacturers to win the battle for control of the earphones,” said Matthew Froggatt, managing director of TNS’s Global Technology sector.

“The increased use of radio in the Asian markets is also extremely important. It is driving a whole new wave of customers to service providers and has huge implications for spreading media communications to a wider audience more quickly.”

Two thirds of people aged 16 to 21 now listen to some form of mobile music on the go, but it is also surprisingly popular with more senior generations. The study shows that 20 per cent of people aged 51 to 60 tune in to music on their handsets.

Globally, 43 per cent of all mobile users and 73 per cent of smartphone users now listen to some form of mobile music.

“The radio is a hugely underrated media tool which has suffered at the hands of TV music channels and the internet. This new outlet through mobile phones may help to sustain its life well into this millennium,” added Froggatt.

However, the report warns that the music industry needs to be cautious of seeing this as a money-spinner, as 22 per cent of global users now load music onto their phone from a PC, compared to just 16 per cent who download directly.

Many consumers already have music libraries in a digital format and are often put off downloading directly to their mobile because of high price perceptions.

Using the phone as a music player gives device manufacturers an opportunity to increase consumer involvement with their products, but for network operators and music rights owners incremental revenue growth through downloading may be limited.

“For the networks, enhanced real-time data services, like mobile internet or location-specific information, may be a better bet to increase consumer spend,” concluded Froggatt.