Like pretty much every other ringtone aggregator that’s still in business today, LiveWire Mobile is getting into the full-song business. The company laid out plans for a DRM-free music download service that it says will be offered by two North American wireless operators later this year. It’s got licensing deals with all four majors.
No pricing details were given, as the operators offering the service will be setting those figures. LiveWire says its service can facilitate both a la carte or subscription payment models. It’s also designed to feature bundling of multiple music products into a single sale, such as a full song with a download with an artist image.
That bundling capability is of great interest to record labels. But downloading music to the phone is not a big hit among consumers. According to a recent comScore survey, less than 2% of respondents are downloading tracks straight to their phone even though 24% are using their phones to listen to music. That means most are either transferring songs from their computer to their MP3-enabled phones (20%), or simply streaming them from mobile music services like Rhapsody or Spotify.
