MobileMusic
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Spotify gets Symbian app, Nokia owners rejoice
As the official Spotify site says, "Symbian is the world's most popular smartphone platform," so it's only proper that it too gets to sip the elixir of on-demand music streaming and offline playlists. Nothing is particularly different from the iPhone or Android offering, you still require a Spotify Premium account in order to access the service on your mobile, but we're sure all those N- and E-series device owners didn't want better, they just wanted in. Lest we forget, the Samsung i8910 HD and Sony Ericsson Satio are also on that freshly minted Symbian support list. If you must know what the app looks like before pulling the trigger, slide past the break for a video demonstration. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Puretracks DRM-free music store hitting BlackBerry platform in April
For BlackBerry users feeling a bit left out of the mobile music store revolution, take heart, as Puretracks is running to the rescue. Utilizing the spotlight at SXSW in Texas, the aforementioned outfit is showcasing its newly developed, DRM-free music store and service for the BlackBerry platform. Reportedly, the system was crafted with partner Magnet Mobile Media, and it's slated to function on the Pearl, Curve and 8800 series mobiles. As of now, we've no idea how much the tunes will cost, but we do know that they'll be compressed AAC / AAC+ files and will be available in the US on April 1. As for future plans, the firm hopes to bring the service to Canada and "other markets," and best of all, it's even looking to "include support for WiFi capable handsets."[Via mocoNews]
Edgar Bronfman admits to "inadvertently" going to war with music consumers
By now, we're pretty certain you know how Warner Music's head honcho feels about DRM and its necessity in the digital download space, but apparently, the man behind not one, but two CE-Oh Noes has experienced some form of epiphany. MacUser has it that Edgar Bronfman admitted that the music industry "used to fool itself" by thinking that its content was "perfect just exactly as it was" while speaking at the GSMA Mobile Asia Congress in Macau. He went on to say that it was widely believed that the business would "remain blissfully unaffected even as the world of interactivity, constant connection and file sharing was exploding." He also noted that it essentially went to war "inadvertently" with consumers by "denying them what they wanted and could otherwise find." The conversation was used in part to urge mobile operators to not make the same mistakes again, and while we applaud such a figure for coming forward with a bit of hard truth, it remains to be seen if these sentiments will reverberate further or simply fall on deaf ears.[Via mocoNews]
Mercora launches "M" music service for Windows Mobile
Mercora has joined the burgeoning mobile music fray in what looks to be a fairly big way today, launching its minimally-named "M" service for Windows Mobile 5.0-based devices. Unlike other mobile music services, which'll sell you songs or streaming radio, M gives you over-the-air access to your existing music library stored on your PC, in addition to access to a slew of radio stations. And, in a move sure to please the geekier among us, Mercora has chosen to use an optimized version of Ogg/Vorbis to deliver high-quality audio while keeping bandwidth usage in check. All this comes at a cost, of course, with the introductory price starting at $4.99/month, and subscription packages coming in at $29.99 for six months, $49.99 for one year, and $99.99 for two-years (you'll also probably want an unlimited data plan with your carrier unless you want a big surprise on your next bill). While not part of the initial launch, Mercora says it'll soon roll out a social network component to the service, which'll let you browse and listen to the music collections of up to five friends or family members. If you're curious, you can get in on a free preview right now (minus the music sharing), just don't get carried away with the data usage if you aren't prepared to foot the bill.[Via jkOnTheRun]
Cingular to help MySpace bands create, sell ringtones
All those MySpace groups who don't end up winning Verizon's "Calling All Bands" contest will still have a wireless carrier-sponsored shot at stardom thanks to a new service called Cingular Mobile Music Studio that will turn their songs into ringtones available for purchase from the band's MySpace page. Any MySpace-accredited artist or band whose songs consist of original material may submit one track to project manager InfoSpace for consideration, and if deemed appropriate, it will be transformed into a 30-second downloadable ringtone. Artists will get 25% of the $2.50 that each 'tone will cost, and receive their cut as a check in the mail every quarter as long as revenues for that period exceed $100. This is the second major partnership between Cingular and MySpace, with the carrier's subscribers already able to receive text alerts when someone leaves a comment on their page, and one of several pushes the social networking site has made into the mobile space.[Via Seattle Times]
