KEY POINTS:
It's not just iTunes revving up the digital music market. Vodafone is launching a new service today that means you'll be able to legally download your favourite track to your mobile and computer simultaneously for $1.99 (until now it cost $3.50 for a phone download alone). An album costs $17.99.
The obvious benefit is convenience. Should the urge to hear that Justin Timberlake song hit you while you're sitting in traffic, you could be listening to it within a minute; it will also be sitting on your PC when you get home. (You can also download music via the website.) From there, you can legally make three CD copies, so you're not limited to attaching that sub-Woofer to your flip-top. And unlike iTunes, which requires buyers are 18 years or older, teens who don't yet own credit cards can use it.
The downside? Vodafone's music library has 550,000 songs, a fraction of the iTunes' 3.5 million. Your stylish walkie talkie won't be any good unless it's 3G. And if you see no value in owning more than the copy on your mobile - the new Nokia has the capacity to hold 3000 songs, after all - you'll be paying more than your MP3-user friends who download tracks from Digirama or Coke Tunes for $1.75.
Regardless, with so many free download sites available, won't music fans just continue to duck the law?
"Protecting music these days seems very hard to do," agrees Vodafone's head of music Morgan Donoghue. "Kids can go to websites and download heaps of stuff ... But I don't think people particularly like stealing. Now that the price is attractive, hopefully they will go to the phone or the computer and go, 'you know what? It's legal and I can still get a copy of the album cover'."
Donoghue's move to Vodafone from his job as marketing manager of EMI Music is emblematic of the shift in the way we buy music. As record companies struggle to keep up with digital sales, why not move the record company to the digital realm? Donoghue has been keeping an eye on Vodafone's steadily multiplying singles downloads, which he says have surpassed retail singles sales since Vodafone introduced them in October last year.
The download choices suggest that market is young and urban: Beyonce, Justin Timberlake and Chingy were the most popular purchases last week. But give it time: Barry Manilow is at the top of the digital album charts in the US this week, and Donoghue expects the New Zealand market will broaden as the technology becomes more familiar.
"I think people are still a little bit scared of the phone. They think that if they hit 'Vodafone Live' they're going to pay even though it's free to browse."
Vodafone is also launching its "music sessions" that mean it won't be the end of the world if you miss out on tickets to your favourite show. When Chingy performs at the St James tonight, 021 customers with 3G phones will be able to watch the concert streaming live - and free - on their mobiles, the first of about four major gigs a year. There are also plans to tap into the local scene by setting up a social networking service for musicians. Whatever the case, if you lose your cellphone, you'll be more upset than ever.
