Popular PC maker Lenovo and the legal music download service Napster have signed a deal to have Napster provide new Lenovo PC owners with a free 14-day trial to the Napster To Go digital music service.
It appears the deal is only valid for North American users and the deal will give users access to Napster’s 6 million DRM-free audio tracks for free, for two weeks.
Because they are considered subscribers, the trial users will also be able “to access Napster To Go’s ad-free radio stations and playlists put together by music industry professionals. They can also transfer the songs they select onto compatible MP3 players and music phones without paying an extra download charge.”
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A couple of weeks back we reported that the UK ISPs had teamed up to fight piracy.
Since that announcement there has been mixed criticisms as to how efficient the industry agreement will be and how fast any type of ISP-level filter would be broken. 7Digital however, the online music download store, is going under the impression the deal will end all piracy and they want to use it to take over iTunes’ number one spot.
A new proposal by the site would see it become the largest online music outfit, basically overnight, but will also require the new UK ISP deal to work, and work very well at that.
The new proposal would mean “broadband consumers would be able to purchase music files straight from the ISPs or subscribe to DRM protected music libraries and even allow ISPs to create their own download service like iTunes but without a heavy initial outlay. By acting a one-stop shop, the big music studios will not be compelled to discuss individually with the dozens of ISPs out there, leaving that to 7Digital.” adds 7digital’s CEO Ben Drury. “It will help combat churn and attract new subscribers.”
“It’s a natural step for ISPs to offer added value services such as music downloads and streaming to their existing customers,”
This new news reminds of when Australian ISPs impelmented an 84 million dollar porn filter which subsequently broken within 30 minutes by a teenager who was bored. If instead, the industry goes for blanket P2P blocks, rest assured open source and digital rights will be up in arms, which is a fight 7Digital and the record industry does not want.
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According to a market source, Apple has agreed to a distribution deal with Russian mobile carrier Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) that will bring the iPhone to the world’s second fastest growing market for cell phones.
“MTS has made an agreement with Apple on the sale of iPhones,” the source said. “Sales are likely to begin in October.”
MTS is Russia’s largest mobile phone carrier and is controlled by the gigantic Russian services conglomerate Sistema.
Although the iPhone is not officially sold in Russia, unauthorized sales have been growing exponentially with industry experts saying sales of unlocked iPhones are at about 20,000 per month now in the country.
Both Apple CEO Steve Jobs and MTS CEO Mikhail Shamolin both recently made comments regarding the iPhone heading to Russia but no one knows the details behind the deal nor pricing.
We will keep you updated.
