Currently in Japan there are hundreds of websites that allow for Japanese mobile phone users to download free music, right to their phones, and quickly, depending on the speed of their data networks.
The RIAJ (Recording Industry Association of Japan) wants to put an end to that however and is currently in talks with the Japanese cell phone carriers for a large operation that will shut down the free music sites, or turn them into pay sites, while also taking more control of the mobile handset industry.
The Yomiuri Online says that over 70 million songs are downloaded “legally” every year via mobile phones in Japan, with another 400 million being downloaded from unauthorized sources.
The new operation will work as follows: When a song is downloaded, it is first checked by the mobile phone operator and if it is from a legal source, it is fine. If they are not, users will receive a note that tells them they are “killing the Japanese music industry,” and should stop doing so immediately.
Akihabara brings up a good point however when they note that Japanese legal sources are a complete ripoff. The average sell price is 300 Yen per song from legit mobile download servers, an equivalent of just under $3 USD. In America we complain about $1 USD.
Result for: mobile music
Motorola has announced that it will be completing its previously announced acquisition of Soundbuzz, the Singapore-based provider of digital music downloads. In fact, Soundbuzz is the leading provider for the entire Asian continent.
The companies did not disclose any of the financial terms of the deal but did say it had been in the works for a few months.
“Clearly, this marks a major milestone, as it positions Soundbuzz and Motorola to better participate in the ongoing growth in Asia’s booming mobile music download market,” Soundbuzz CEO Sudhanshu Sarronwala said.
The company’s MotoMusic platform will now have 750,000 songs available for download in India, Southeast Asia, and Greater China.
Result for: mobile music
The large European mobile phone carrier O2 has announced a partnership with Napster to “offer the UK’s largest full Track mobile music download
service.”
There is however, one hitch. Your handset must have “O2 Active” to access
the Napster Mobile service, and so far it seems only 30 different handsets can
do so. For those who can however, the service will give users access to over
five million tracks and offer “dual delivery of tracks to both
the customer’s mobile phone and PC via email.”
The new partnership will provide individual tracks for 99p or 5 for £4 for a
promotional Period but there was no word on pricing after that period.
