Telcos gear up for rise in mobile music demand

MANILA, Philippines - Music loving Filipinos are expected to benefit as rivals Smart Communications Inc. of dominant carrier Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) and Ayala-led Globe Telecom Inc. are gearing up for the continued rise in music consumption among mobile users.

Charles Lim, executive vice president and head of the Wireless Consumer Division at Smart, said streaming music from the cloud would soon become the preferred mode of music consumption with the cost of smartphones going down and as mobile networks backed by fiber optic technology become more and more robust. 

“Streaming is without a doubt the future of music consumption, and Smart has already paved the way for Filipinos to enjoy this new way of listening to their favorite songs through services such as SPINNR, the first music-streaming service in the country,” Lim said.

 Around the world, music streaming is quickly eclipsing traditional ways of consuming music, like downloading digital versions of songs or buying the physical album of an artist. 

According to a recent report by the global music trade group the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), revenues from music streaming jumped by 51.3 percent in 2013, signifying a shift in consumer preference toward more convenient and affordable ways of accessing their favorite tunes. 

By streaming songs on to their devices, music lovers no longer have to put up with limited storage space on their phones or deal with conversion of files just to listen to the songs of their favorite artists.

 â€œMost users go to video-sharing sites, download the music from there, then convert the file to a format that is compatible with their devices. This method is cumbersome, and prevents users from enjoying the songs that they love instantly,” Lim added. 

With the presence of music-streaming services such as SPINNR and Deezer, these inconveniences are quickly eliminated, Lim said.

 All users have to do now is download the app on their phones, search for the song they want to hear, and instantly enjoy their favorite tunes on the go. 

SPINNR has not only made music streaming mainstream, but affordable as well. For only P2.50 per day or P49 a month, users have unlimited access to millions of tracks from SPINNR’s quickly expanding music catalogue.

 â€œAnd the good news is SPINNR doesn’t come with additional data charges, so users can listen to their playlists all they want, wherever they are. We have supercharged our network in the past years so users can experience seamless and uninterrupted music streaming with SPINNR,” Lim added. 

Available to all 72.5 million Smart, Talk ‘N Text and Sun Cellular subscribers, SPINNR also allows convenient charging of subscription to users’ prepaid or postpaid accounts, eliminating the need for a credit card to access digital services such as music streaming. 

On the other hand, Globe entered into an exclusive partnership with Spotify to provide subscribers with the best free music experience in the history of the smartphone as well as instant access to over 30 million songs. 

The partnership would give all 38 million Globe Postpaid, Globe Prepaid and Tattoo-on-the-go prepaid subscribers free access to Spotify through the telco’s new data plan, GoSURF.

 Spotify director for Asia Sunita Kaur said the company takes music enjoyment to a whole new level through the partnership with Globe. 

“Music fans get instant, unlimited access to 30 million songs including all the best OPM hits all for free across all your devices, plus Spotify looks and sounds fantastic. And best of all, soon Globe Telecom subscribers can enjoy the ultimate music service powered by Spotify with their new data plan, GoSURF,” the official said.

 Globe chief operating advisor Peter Bithos said the partnership with Spotify would strengthen Globe’s vision to provide an enriched online experience and access to free online content. 

“Globe customers will have music to discover right at their fingertips with Spotify, and sharing music with all their friends is just but a click away,” Bithos said.

 Sweden-based Spotify is the biggest music service of its kind globally, with over 24 million active users and over six million paying subscribers.