FEATURE VIDEO: A new video from Mobile World Live features representatives from Smart, Globe, DTAC and Qtel united in their belief that the mobile music market would benefit from a more standardised and interoperable approach.
To date mobile music has been dominated by vendor-driven platforms and individual operator stores, but there is growing concern that the sector will not live up to potential if this disparate strategy continues. “We believe that in the long-run we should find a space in order to collaborate together, in order to deliver a better proposition to customers,” said Dr Colin Yeh, senior director of product innovation at Qtel. Globe’s Jill Go, working within the operator’s digital media consumer business, commented: “I think the music industry would want to see all operators participating so that when they advertise [the service], they don’t need to say ‘for Globe you access this way, for Smart that way.’” Machilda Techapaibul, VP of partnerships and content management at Thailand’s DTAC, added: “If everyone is using the same standard or the same way it will be easy…. It will be good for the industry as a whole.”
The Asian operator comments echo that of the wider mobile and music industries. In a feature video earlier this year from Mobile World Live, the managers of Radiohead, Paul McCartney, Metric and Keane, as well as artist Thomas Dolby and operators Vodafone and 3, argued that there needs to be less complex and fragmented approaches to mobile music offerings for fans on a global basis. And last week Mobile World Live published an interview with former Pink Floyd manager Peter Jenner, in which he claimed the digital music industry is still struggling to figure out how best to capitalise on the huge potential offered by mobile devices.
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