TORONTO – Rogers became the first wireless company in North America to offer customers the ability to download songs to their PCs or wireless phones.
Rogers MusicStore is the first mobile music service in North America to offer customers the dual functionality of purchasing and downloading full songs to their PCs or wireless phones*, directly from their handsets. As well, Rogers Wireless’ has become the first wireless provider in Canada to offer RealTrax ring tunes – MP3-quality music clips taken from real songs by original artists, from record labels EMI Recorded Music, Universal Music, and Warner Music.
Starting today, Rogers Wireless customers will be able to purchase and download full songs from Universal and Warner to their wireless phones and PCs, and RealTrax ring tunes from EMI, Universal, and Warner to their wireless phones.
The full music track and dual-download functionality of Rogers MusicStore, available through the Rogers Wireless navigate mobile Internet portal, is powered by the Melodeo Mobile Music Service. Today’s announcement represents Melodeo’s entry into the North American market.
"Rogers Wireless was named the favourite wireless brand in Canada for youth by Trendscan Youth Culture, and we will continue to earn this position with youth by providing them with access to the things that matter most to them," said Rob Bruce, executive vice-president and chief marketing officer, Rogers Wireless. "Rogers Wireless appreciates the power of music in the lives of Canadian youth and young adults. We’re delighted to be the first carrier in North America to put full track, original recordings into the palms of their hands, wherever they are, through today’s innovative announcement and with the enthusiastic support of the music industry."
"The music industry, in concert with progressive companies like Rogers Wireless, has long appreciated that music fans want to take full advantage of the flexibility the digital revolution has made possible,” said Graham Henderson, president, Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA). “Today’s announcement by Rogers Wireless is a great leap forward. Rogers Wireless customers will have the ability to access music wherever they are and, more importantly, to share it legally with friends and family. This will change the way that we experience music. Rogers Wireless clearly understands the enormous potential for the legal digital marketplace and we salute them."
Rogers MusicStore includes an extensive library of today’s hottest music from which Rogers Wireless customers can select and download full songs. Thousands of tracks are available to customers through Rogers MusicStore and the catalogue will continue to grow rapidly as further content becomes available. The service also includes PowerSearch capability for finding songs, albums or artists with just a few keystrokes. As well, Rogers Wireless customers can browse music recommendations, new releases, and music charts.
Finally, Rogers Wireless customers can personalize their music catalogues since the service has intelligence that allows it to learn an individual’s taste and serve up music that would likely appeal.
Once songs are downloaded from Rogers MusicStore, customers can play them on their PCs or directly on capable wireless phones as often as they like. As well, the service provides peer-to-peer functionality, enabling customers to purchase and then send DRM-protected tracks from wireless phone to wireless phone.
Melodeo’s software incorporates the most advanced audio codec, aacPlus from Coding Technologies, which produces music files significantly smaller than a typical MP3 file, in a solution that is downloaded, not streamed. While phone memory will vary by handset, users can expect to store roughly 75 to 125 tracks with 64MB of memory. In some cases, customers can opt for an additional memory card to significantly increase the number of songs to be stored.
Song downloads from Rogers MusicStore will range in price from $1.25 to $1.99. Rogers MusicStore is currently accessible on the following wireless phones: Motorola V551, Motorola V220, Nokia 6620, and Nokia 3220. The number of capable phones will continue to grow in the coming weeks and months.
