Music Ally

Comes With Music and PlayNow plus have yet to launch, but analysts are already predicting big numbers for the respective unlimited mobile music services of Nokia and Sony Ericsson.

Specifically, TNS Technology estimates that this category of services could result in British consumers downloading 2.1 billion tracks a year, cutting piracy but accelerating the decline of CD sales.

It’s worth digging into how the market research firm came up with that figure though (a gold star if you just shouted ‘market research?’). TNS apparently asked more than 1,000 people whether they were interested in signing up to these services, and if so, how many tracks they’d download a month.

More than a quarter expressed interest, and the average number of tracks they thought they’d download was 64 a month. In other words, that’s 768 songs a year per person, although apparently the figure was double for 16-24 year-olds.

“If replicated across the UK, that would equal 2.1bn tracks downloaded a year,” notes The Guardian, while also reporting the survey’s findings that 45% of users would buy fewer CDs as a result of using these services, 47% would buy fewer downloads from digital stores, and 38% would “reduce” their use of illegal file-sharing sites.

So, the headline 2.1 billion figure is based entirely on people who say they’d be interested in these services guessing how much they might download a month. Highly speculative, in other words, although TNS has been transparent about the methodology behind its prediction.

That ‘47% of users would buy fewer digital downloads’ stat is interesting, though - it seems unlimited mobile services might cannibalise existing digital sales more than CDs.

Early today, Sony Ericsson confirmed details of its new unlimited music download service, PlayArena plus. Omnifone is running the service, which will launch first in Sweden with mobile operator Telenor this year, before rolling out to other countries next year.

We talked to Omnifone CEO Rob Lewis this afternoon, to get some more details, and clarify certain points. He’s characteristically bullish about the deal, as you’d expect. “Walkman is an iconic brand in terms of music, and Sony Ericsson’s handsets have the best audio quality, and in terms of full-track music downloads from operator portals, they take in excess of 50% of the market.”

So is PlayNow plus just Omnifone’s MusicStation service under a different name? Not according to Lewis. In fact, it’s actually a rebranded version of the MusicStation Max service that was announced earlier this year.

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A couple of weeks ago the Financial Times reported that Sony Ericsson is to launch an unlimited music service to rival Nokia’s Comes With Music. Now another report has come from CNet claiming that the service will go live as early as next week. Sony Ericsson has, according to ”recording industry sources” partnered with UK firm Omnifone, which powers (more…)

Sony Ericsson plans to take on Nokia’s Comes With Music with its own unlimited music subscription service, according to a report in the Financial Times. It’s expected to be an extension of the newly-launched PlayNow Arena download service, and may even launch by the end of this month. While a logical enough move, the short timeline can”t help but give the impression that Sony Ericsson is somewhat flailing for options, following the distinctly low-key launch of PlayNow Arena - previously flagged as its big move into content retail.

Last year UK broadcaster Channel4 launched Mobile Act Unsigned with Orange and Sony Ericsson: an interactive talent show bringing together broadcast TV, online and mobile. The show’s format works as an A&R platform where acts must test their mettle in the live arena in front of an audience and panel of judges, comprising Blur bassist Alex James, Radio 1 DJ Jo Whiley and head of A&M records Simon Gavin. The winning act Envy and Other Sins walked away with an album deal with A&M UK (part of Universal Music Group), marketing support, management, a booking agent and merchandising deal. It returns this year, with the (slightly less catchy) title Orange Unsigned Act with Sony Ericsson. The premise is largely the same, but the competition is opening up to include singer/songwriters and urban acts. A transmission date is yet to be announced, but it is expected to launch in autumn.

Music Ally spoke to Simon Gavin and Sony Ericsson’s European head of music marketing about their involvement with the show, what they hope to get out of it, and what we can expect from the new series. (more…)