The Napster-branded service, which combines elements of each company's existing music offering, will support the downloading of digital music files to PCs and wireless downloads to mobile handsets. Operators can take advantage of all revenue streams, in a model available to users on a subscription or customized basis.
The partnership is already in place and the new service is scheduled to go live in Europe later this year, after which it will be offered to operators in selected markets around the world. Designed to work on Digital Rights Management-capable handsets from all major vendors, the service will begin with music downloads but is ultimately expected to include on-demand video streams, personalized radio and more.
The deal is good news for consumers, record companies and operators, who all benefit from the two companies combining their expertise. Napster provides the world's largest track catalog, relationships with record labels and programming skills, while Ericsson has the operator relationships, wireless expertise, integration skills, hosting experience, deployment history and IPX charging system that will take the service mobile.
As two of the biggest names in their respective fields, Ericsson and Napster will bring together the best of telecommunications and music-download technology. While Napster will benefit from Ericsson's credibility and established reputation, Ericsson will enjoy younger consumers' perception of Napster as one of the coolest file-download services on the market. Napster was recently named by the influential magazine Music Week as the UK's best digital music service for 2005.
