Reviving mobile music

Mobile music hasn't been the hit many had thought it would be. Though more consumers are using music capabilities on handsets, they aren't purchasing much music over the air. Two companies at CTIA Wireless I.T. & Entertainment 2008, however, claim they can instill some new life in the space.

Nokia is set to release its Comes With Music program in the U.K. next month, offering a full year of unlimited full-track downloads for a fee tacked on to the handset price. Michael Nash, executive vice president of Warner Music Group, admitted a la carte and subscription-based models aren't working due to disconnects created by ungainly user interfaces, multitiered billing rates and high costs of over-the-air downloads. The Nokia program, however, offers a simpler alternative. “When Nokia acquires a customer, we acquire a customer,” Nash said.

Another option was proposed by the radio industry. Clear Channel Communications and several other radio titans have partnered with Microsoft to create a music service. Digital tags would be embedded in tracks broadcast by radio stations. Customers that like a particular song can instantly download it over Wi-Fi.