NTT DoCoMo Aims High in Music Delivery Service for 3G PHS
Phones
November 16, 2000 (TOKYO) -- NTT DoCoMo Inc. will start offering a commercial music
delivery service from the end of this year to allow users to record music data on its
dedicated personal handyphone system (PHS) phones.
Numbers selected from the on-screen menu will be
recorded in the phone's SD card, a PHS-specific
small memory card. The music will range from indies
to major labels.
Various music delivery services -- even to PCs --
aren't yet viable. Kuniaki Naoi, manager of NTT
DoCoMo's mobile multimedia business department,
answered questions on NTT DoCoMo's prospects
for this distribution service as a business.
Nikkei Net Brain: NTT DoCoMo started a music
delivery test service limited to monitors from May.
How is the business working out?
Naoi: Following the test results, we are preparing commercial services for the year-end.
In May, we had 500 monitors of the test distribution service, and we increased the
number to 1,000 in July. The tentative price is 150 yen to 350 yen per title. We haven't
disclosed data as to the reactions of the monitors, such as the number of users utilizing
the service each day or the number of music data delivered daily.
Q: Are the business prospects good?
A: It won't be successful immediately after the launch, but it will likely become a viable
model when the next-generation W-CDMA mobile terminals are used with a data rate of
384kbps. The business model of our music delivery service is based on usage charges
(for our platforms by record companies and content suppliers). It's also based on our
billing of users.
The key to success of the music delivery business is to gather as many units of music
content and users as possible.
We'll offer a wide range of content including major hits, healing music and even news
reading. For these, we need about 100,000 to 200,000 users. A lot of users are necessary
to make music delivery a medium people will recognize. Otherwise, the user data we can
obtain from operating the music distribution service wouldn't be so helpful for
advertisers and other research purposes. Moreover, a thin user base might not be a
good advertising-revenue model. If ads can be embedded into music data -- though I
don't know in what exact form -- customers will benefit in terms of usage fees they must
pay. And as a result, lowered usage fees will attract more customers.
Q: What do you think of DDI Pocket, which in November is starting its music delivery
service for PHS phones ahead of your company?
A: DDI Pocket's "Sound Market" is intended to offer indies. But, our service will cover
music of major artists, too. There's a big difference.
DDI Pocket's selling point is that customers can "give" the music to a third person, but
we think that this gift system will confuse users. In this service system, the gift
presenter first purchases music on a PHS without downloading the music data on a PHS
phone. The gift recipient then receives and records the music data and pays the
communication fee necessary for downloading.
To avoid any confusion, in our service system, the purchaser is the only person
allowed to download and play the music data. First and foremost we should concentrate
on attracting users and increasing the number of users, telling them that our service is
simple and easy to use.
(Keisuke Ogawa, Staff Editor, Nikkei Net Brain)
nikkeibp.asiabiztech.com
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"It won't be successful immediately after the launch, but it will likely become a viable model when the next-generation W-CDMA mobile terminals are used.."
No need to beat a dead horse, but we all know at this point that, aside from a small number of corporate users, the typical NTT consumer won't see wCDMA services till - perhaps 2003??
"DDI Pocket's selling point is that customers can "give" the music to a third person.."
So, this is the solitary selling point for DDI's Pocket? In all else, NTT's is equal or superior?
"To avoid any confusion, in our service system, the purchaser is the only person allowed to download and play the music data."
So, limitations are --- an advantage! Is NTT's bandwidth limitation an advantage as well? Interesting corporate strategy - and one that NTT will have generous opportunities to wield.
Anyone know what an indie is - or have a first-hand understanding of KDDI's projected music selection??
ben |
