Music and mobile mix a world first
The company, which was set up by Waterford-born entrepreneur Vince Power and is jointly controlled by Mr Power and fellow music promoter Denis Desmond of MCD Promotions, said it had teamed up with British entertainment group Shazam to link Mean Fiddler’s internet download service with Shazam’s mobile phone technology.
The new service will allow mobile phone users who hear a piece of music being played in a public place, such as a pub or on a car radio, to use their phone to identify the track.
Users transmit the music to Shazam by making a call with their phone. Shazam’s technology identifies the piece and sends details of the track, including its title and the name of the artist, by text message to the customer. The customer also receives a code number that is then keyed in on the Mean Fiddler website to download a digital version of the track to his or her computer.
Downloads will cost £1.50 (€2.25) per track and will be paid for as part of the user’s mobile phone bill. Revenues will be shared jointly between Mean Fiddler and Shazam.
Shazam has already identified over 4 million tracks in Britain alone since its launch two years ago.
The partnership with Mean Fiddler will extend Shazam’s service beyond simply identifying the track to allowing customers to buy a copy over the web.
Mr Power said the new deal was a “tremendous opportunity” for Mean Fiddler to capitalise on a growing trend of people using their mobile phone as an instrument to pay for music downloads.
Mean Fiddler’s research found more than two-thirds of all legal music downloads over the internet were now paid for by mobile phone.
The service will be available in Britain but will soon extend to Europe, America and Asia.
“The service is simple to use and a great way to promote music through mobile and online technology,” he said.
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