Vodafone UK has announced that its customers will have unlimited access to over 1 million tracks from all major record labels and leading independents, on a range of new handsets for Christmas.
Through an exclusive agreement with Omnifone, the UK-based mobile music company, Vodafone will roll out the award-winning MusicStation service, giving customers the ability to download tracks from Universal Music Group, Sony BMG Music Entertainment, EMI Music and Warner Music Group direct to their handsets.
Customers will be able to sign up for unlimited downloads from MusicStation for 1.99 per week. Vodafone says the service will be easy to use on new Vodafone UK handsets as well as existing 2.5G and 3G mobiles, ensuring that most customers do not need to upgrade their phones to access tracks.
Built-in networked functions, including the ability to share playlists and tracks with other people, mean that MusicStation delivers a truly compelling music experience on the mobile for the first time, says Vodafone. MusicStation customers will be able to build a music-based social network by receiving gig news and dates, messaging their friends and sending recommended tracks using collaborative filtering and nearest neighbour technology to identify new tracks and artists others are likely to be interested in.
Downloaded MusicStation tracks and user playlists are stored centrally, so that if a customers mobile is stolen, lost or upgraded, the replacement handset will automatically restore the customers music, playlists, friends and preferences the first time MusicStation is switched on.
MusicStation automatically stores a customers favourite tracks on the phones internal or removable memory. While some phones can store thousands of tracks, others store less than one hundred, so MusicStation maximises the capabilities of any mobile phone using unlimited downloads from the network to provide access to any of the catalogue at any time. MusicStations technology also ensures that the memory allocated on the phone is always used to store the customers favourite and about-to-be-played music. This means that users can listen to their favourite tracks when in Flight Safe mode and have unlimited access to the full catalogue when connected to a 2.5G or 3G network.
Vodafone UKs new range of mobiles includes models from many of the major handset brands, offering customers access to Internet leaders including eBay, MySpace and YouTube on Vodafone Mobile Internet and the best in downloadable music.
Vodafone UK-exclusive handsets include the Nokia N95, with 5 Megapixel camera; the touch-screen activated Samsung F700; and the Sony Ericsson W910i, with 40Mb of memory and innovative shake control. The handsets for the UK are from a broader Vodafone Group range announced today.
The MusicStation service will be accessed through Vodafone live! on a wide range of music handsets, including new Christmas models like the Sony Ericsson W910i, from November.
Were building on the momentum of our Vodafone Mobile Internet launch and our commitment to music through the Vodafone TBAs and our Vodafone Live Music Awards, says Vodafone UK Chief marketing Officer, Tim Yates. Todays announcement is a first for music on the mobile in the UK and means a fundamental change to the way people experience music on their phones. Vodafone is bringing unlimited music downloads on a wide range of handsets for under 2 a week.
Omnifone CEO Rob Lewis adds:
MusicStation is the first mass-market, unlimited mobile music download service in the UK. We are delighted Vodafone is making MusicStation available to its customers on Vodafone music mobile phones ahead of Christmas.
Vodafone notes that the backing of the four major music labels and leading independents, coupled with the attractive pricing, means that its customers will have the freedom to make the most of their time and discover new musicians and songs whenever and wherever they wish. MusicStations huge catalogue will provide an enormous range of artists and genres while a charge of just 1.99 per week for unlimited downloads lets customers cost-effectively discover new artists and tracks to broaden their musical horizons.
In addition, says Vodafone, the service marks an important development for the music industry, as it means more underground artists will be accessible to the mass market, alongside major artists, for an all-inclusive weekly charge.
MusicStation will be available to download to new and existing mobiles before Christmas.