March 2, 2005
The Chaku-uta challenge
In Japan, full-tune MP3 downloads to mobile handsets have already hit the 2 million mark. Red Herring reports.
"Wireless MP3 downloads to handsets in Japan are booming. Less than nine weeks after it launched its “EZ Chaku-uta Full” MP3 service, KDDI has delivered 2 million songs to subscribers.
Benjamin Joffe, co-author of a report published this week by Vectis International called Mobile Music Best Practices from Japan & Korea, believes this trend in the world's most advanced mobile markets points the way for other major markets, including the U.S., Europe, and China.
With over 120 million downloads in 2004, the market for MP3 ring tones in Japan is already one-quarter the market for CD singles.
[...] If the mobile phone vendors are determined to turn handsets into personal music systems, will Apple need to fight back by turning the iPod into a phone? “Apple still has time to figure out something,” said Mr. Joffe. “But it's a fact that in the most advanced markets, iPod will compete with mobile devices. It's already begun.”
EZ Chaku-uta Full, the leading service, takes its name from the Japanese chakushin, meaning reception, and uta, meaning song.
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