July 31, 2007 at 02:18:00 PM | more stories by this author
Second-largest online music seller teams up with wireless giant to sell downloads over the air to cell phones.
Mobile music just got a lot more indie.
Wireless giant AT&T has inked a deal with digital download service eMusic, which sells music in MP3 format and sells music only from independent labels, to sell downloads over the air to cell phones. The deal allows most AT&T customers, except for those who use the Apple iPhone, to buy music straight from eMusic without connecting to a computer first.
The deal could be a boon for both parties, as AT&T customers will now have access to a vast catalog of music not typically included in other mobile music stores, such as those from Verizon and Sprint. Nearly all of the 2.7 million tracks eMusic has the rights to sell, including the recently added Memory Almost Full from Paul McCartney, will be available through the service.
eMusic, the second-largest online music seller but a distant second to Apple's iTunes, will reach a much larger audience.
But the service's cost could be a hurdle. Tracks will cost more than they do on eMusic's site--$7.49 for five songs, as opposed to $9.99 for 30 at the online site, the companies said. Users will get a second copy of the song to download to a computer as part of the price.
If a subscriber wants to download more than five songs in any given month, additional booster packs of five songs are available for $7.49 each. But AT&T customers will have to subscribe to the service in order to buy a booster pack.


1 Comment
Oldest First | Newest First