However, music tracks on new "PLAY" service will have DRM and expire 30 days after cancellation of internet subscription.
TDC, the former Danish state telco, has announced that it’s offering their broadband and mobile customers unlimited free music – for no extra cost. The company sees it as a way to retain and attract customers
At present, TDC has entered into agreements with three of the four largest international music companies, EMI, SONY BMG and Warner Music Denmark as well as many Danish independent labels including the MBO group, DIGIDI, Artpeople, Clockwize, House of Scandinavia. The agreements cover both new and catalogue releases.
TDC’s and YouSee’s broadband and mobile customers – with the exception of a few subscriptions types – will be able to download more than one million tracks from artists such as Red Hot Chili Peppers, REM, Ida Corr, James Blunt, Anne Linnet, Bruce Springsteen, Outlandish, L.O.C, Robbie Williams,TV2, Szhirley and many, many more.
"They will experience that through PLAY they are suddenly able to download all the music they wish as a part of their subscription from TDC or YouSee, legally and without extra charges," says Jens Alder, President and CEO of TDC.
TDC will offer Play through its mobile unit (2.9 million customers) and its YouSee broadband business (309,000 subscribers). Except for prepay mobile and 2Mbps broadband customers, subscribers can download as many tunes as they like from a repertoire of over a million – but DRM attached to tracks means they can’t be transferred to other devices and will expire in 30 days if customers cancel their subscription. Unlocked tracks can be bought for eight krona ($1.32USD), however. It’s 48Kbps AAC/AAC+ for mobile, 192Kbps WMV for desktop.
"It took the right combination of scale and innovation to make such a pioneering idea a reality. TDC has this combination, but fortunately we also met people in the music industry who have also been able to see the possibilities for PLAY," says Jens Alder.
Alder explains the rationale for the launch of PLAY with the fact that both the mobile and broadband market are more or less saturated, and that there is a need for new thinking for telcos to attract more customers.
"Today it is not enough just to offer a smart cell phone or a fast broad band access line. Therefore, we are investing in making music available to our customers, and we believe that we will benefit from it financially and get more satisfied customers," he says.
The plan could also be a means of effectively fighting music piracy on its network. For if its customers had access to all the music they desired free and without hassle then then they would logically have no need for P2P and file-sharing network.
"PLAY is the most important strategic move for TDC in many years. We are setting a new course for the broadband and mobile industries, as we offer our customers unique access to digital music this is an important step in the fight against piracy that has troubled the music industry for many years," Alder continues.
So long as there is no additional fee or hidden tax as part of the PLAY service I think that it’s a wonderful plan for TDC customers and perhaps even a model for other ISPs as well. I’d even be willing to pony up a few dollars to subscribe to it, even if the tracks have DRM and expire once you’re no longer a customer.
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Why must the tracks expire? What kind of game is that? Go ahead and tax every mp3 player and computer like the Brits do TV sets and be done with it. Everyone is doing handstands and backflips to come up with a “method” for downloading music. I’m a little sick and tired of this cat and mouse nonsense. If they charged a nominal monthly access fee I’d sign up and that’s that. But having my tracks expire when I leave the service that is STUPID.