Online music: Same tunes in a different package

Damian Koh | May 05, 2008

Can you recall the last time you actually paid for music on your mobile phone? If you even need a second to think about this, you are not alone. The digital music market is hardly new and people have been downloading and sharing music for ages. Music sales online and via mobile channels were worth an estimated US$2.9 billion in 2007, according to IFPI which represents the recording industry worldwide.

Some other interesting statistics were also released in the recent Digital Music Report for 2008. There are more than 500 legitimate digital music services worldwide with over 6 million tracks collectively and the ratio of unlicensed tracks downloaded to legal tracks sold is about 20:1. Online sales account for 67 percent of the digital market in the US, while over 90-percent of Japan's digital sales are on the mobile platform. The report also highlighted that China has huge potential, but is largely held back by rampant piracy and poor returns to rights owners.

Last week, Nokia launched its second online music store in the APAC, offering a-la-carte downloads and a buffet-style jukebox service on the PC. A Time magazine article said that LG will be launching a service similar to Nokia's Comes With Music this mid-year. iTunes, on the other hand, is already available in Australia, New Zealand and Japan.

Numerous online music service models are sprouting up and consumers are getting more choices than they ever had. However, the biggest hurdle the record labels and phone makers now have to overcome is getting the price model right for their music (and dropping DRM). Each track on the Nokia music store in Singapore costs S$2 (US$1.47), while iTunes Australia offers a single song at A$1.69 (US$1.59). Compare this to US$0.99 per tune on iTunes in the US, and you wonder why the difference is so great. The question is, how much would you pay to own the music? Or would you rather IM your buddy to ask if he has the song?

Picture credit: Sony Ericsson

Filed under: Mobile Phones, Music & Play
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