KDDI to Offer Full-Song Download Service for Cell Phones

KDDI Corp next spring will become the first Japanese mobile phone company to offer a service enabling music to be downloaded to cellular phones so that they can be used as portable music players, reports NEAsia.

"The inauguration of the service will coincide with the debut of new 3G (third-generation) handsets that can store large amounts of data. The first of these handsets will be able to store five five-minute songs apiece, and 50-song models are under development. Once stored, the songs can be played repeatedly.

KDDI is now negotiating fees for the songs with music labels. Currently, 30-second songs that serve as ringer melodies now cost about 105 yen. The average of 210 yen charged for downloading a full song to a personal computer will probably be used a reference for setting the price for cell phone downloads.

The firm started offering songs as ringer melodies in December 2002, but the short melodies are just the "hook" portions of the songs. Nevertheless, the service has been a hit, and the number of downloads is expected to break the 100 million mark as early as the start of this month".

emily | 5:32 PM | Real Music |
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