3G Music Applications On Way

Nokia and Vodafone are among a host of organisations linking up to create a music application for mobile phones.

Called Musical, the service will collect data on users’ music tastes to deliver tracks, video clips, new releases and reviews to 2.5G and 3G mobile devices.

Other companies signed up include Musicindie, the new-media arm of the Association of Independent Music, and Edinburgh digital-media management firm Dig.

Personalisation features, news on local gigs and festivals and discount vouchers are all planned. People with the same tastes in music will also be able to create ‘community’ stations, sending songs, dedications and video clips to friends.

About 10 firms, including network operators, technology providers, research institutes and music providers, have signed up to the two-year project, which is partially supported by the EC’s eContent programme.

The consortium will now undertake public surveys to discover what services are wanted and at what price, before a live trial starts across Europe. A national pilot is planned for next summer, and will be followed four months later by an international pilot.

“What we want to do is understand the mobile market in general and identify what consumers’ requirements are,” explained Gordon Rintoul, head of business development at Musicindie. “Having various industry names working together is a step in the right direction.”