BT's music website, dotmusic, today launches the first legal music service in Europe to offer unlimited downloads from a major record label supported service. The launch of 'dotmusic on demand' (www.dotmusic.com) represents a quantum leap for legal music services in Europe and is the first genuine alternative to illegal services such as Kazaa.
Many legal services launched during 2002 but dotmusic on demand is the first in Europe to offer consumers 'unlimited' downloads from a catalogue including material from major labels. An unlimited downloads package is widely seen as being the key in convincing users of illegal file swapping services to switch to legal services that reimburse artists and labels. The move brings dotmusic on demand level with the services available in the US where recently launched unlimited music services have been a hit with consumers.
dotmusic on demand is powered by OD2, Europe's largest provider of legal digital downloads. OD2's catalogue includes over 150,000 tracks from major record labels, including Warner, BMG, EMI and Universal, along with a host of independents. Users can download tracks from an incredibly diverse range of artists, from Ms Dynamite to Elvis Presley. The catalogue also includes many rarities such as Coldplay's first EP, of which only a few thousand were made.
dotmusic on demand pricing
Subscribers to the dotmusic on demand unlimited package are able to download and play as many tracks from the catalogue as they wish for a monthly fee of £9.99, less than the cost of one album. The following options are available:
Free Trial - a 3-day trial is available for users to experience the service at no cost.
dotmusic on demand unlimited - at £9.99 per month, this package provides unlimited downloads and streaming. Users signing up before 30th April will also receive 10 free permanent downloads that can be 'burned' to CD and transferred to portable devices.
dotmusic on demand basic - at £4.99 per month, this package provides up to 50 downloads and up to 500 streams per month.
dotmusic on demand pay-as-you-go - a way to purchase individual downloads without a monthly commitment. Prices vary from £0.99 - £1.49 per track.
dotmusic on demand is fully integrated into the dotmusic site, enabling subscribers to go straight from reading an interview with an artist, to downloading tracks from their new album with just one click. The service also includes several genre-based radio stations with no DJs or adverts - just music. In addition, subscribers to the service will have access to exclusive content including videos and competitions not available to other dotmusic users.
Subscribers can create and share playlists of their favourite tracks and thus share their tastes with others to discover new music. For example, a subscriber who likes Foo Fighters might discover Queens Of The Stone Age by looking at a fellow fan's playlists.
Ben Drury, head of music at BT, said: "This is a totally new way to experience music with instant connection between reading about a band and listening to their music. This gives incredible power to the consumer, and frees them from reliance on radio playlists to discover new music. And at £9.99 a month it's incredible value for money. It would take you more than 100 years to build up a catalogue of this size buying one album a month."
Peter Jamieson, executive chairman at the BPI said: "dotmusic on demand is a trailblazer in the market, which I believe gives cause for new optimism for the music industry. Providing legitimate services to enable consumers to download their favourite music is pivotal to the future strategies of all music companies represented by the BPI."
BT Openworld was the first in Europe to trial a legal music download service with OD2 in November 2001. BT Openworld bought dotmusic in April 2002 and has since developed the site extensively, including the launch of a broadband channel in June 2002 featuring broadband sp
