Telecom NZ Android music store app

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freitasm

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#105104 27-Jun-2012 13:11

Just received:

Telecom New Zealand consumers with an ear for music can now download the latest tunes with the launch of Telecom’s Music Store for Android devices. The telco is the first operator in New Zealand to launch an Android music store app.

The new app is free (but standard data charges apply) from the Google Play store, allowing customers to easily browse and preview songs, read artist biographies, as well as purchase songs and albums from a catalogue of over a million songs including a great selection of NZ music.

The app was developed in conjunction with US-based Livewire Mobile, which powers Telecom’s successful mobile music store.

Ed Hyde, GM Mobile Product Portfolio for Telecom is excited about the launch of the app saying it provides customers with a mobile phone and music player in one.

“We are proud to be the first carrier in the NZ market to deliver an Android Music Store App. Telecom customers on Android can now purchase, download and listen to songs and have peace of mind knowing that our store is a perfectly legal way to do so. The songs are also digital rights management free and can be played on their other digital media players”

Matthew Stecker, CEO of Livewire Mobile, says: “We are delighted to be able to support Telecom with an outstanding Android app that has already proven a hit with music lovers around the world and is now available to New Zealand.”

The Telecom Music Store for Android has a range of prices for both individual songs and albums. Songs are priced at $1.45, $1.99 or $2.45 and albums are priced at $12.95, $17.99 or $21.99.

Customers will be informed of the cost of each song at time of purchase with a preview option available for each track. All purchases will appear on their Telecom bills (post-paid customers) or be deducted off pre-paid balances. The Telecom Music Store for Android is however not “unmetered”. Standard data charges apply for all browsing and downloading (including downloading the app and previews). The music files vary in size, but are approximately 1 MB per minute – therefore a 4min song would be approximately 4MB in size.

The app, which operates on systems 2.0 and above allows download over Wifi, provided the purchase is completed via the 3G network.

The Telecom Music Store for Android can be downloaded by searching “Telecom Music” in the Google Play store. Customers can also text “droid” to 4263 to receive a link to the store from their mobile.

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#647019 27-Jun-2012 14:22

Link to Play store:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.livewiremobile.musicstore.tnz

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motorwayne

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#647029 27-Jun-2012 14:38

Cool, grabbed it. Well done Telecom.

GeoffisPure

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#647141 27-Jun-2012 17:52

Why was it necessary to limit this to Telecom customers only?

johnr

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#647146 27-Jun-2012 18:04

GeoffisPure: Why was it necessary to limit this to Telecom customers only?

Billing for one

johnr

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#647147 27-Jun-2012 18:06

Oh and the name " Telecom music store "

seightch

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#647683 28-Jun-2012 15:34

Am I the only one who thinks this is the lamest thing ever.

It has about 1/30 of of the Itunes collection

and about 1/15 of either Spotify or Music Unlimited.

All successful new music services in the market are based around the leased music model not the old fashion concept of "owning" digital content.

And its not even un-metered.

dclegg

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#647701 28-Jun-2012 16:08

seightch:
All successful new music services in the market are based around the leased music model not the old fashion concept of "owning" digital content.

Some of us old farts prefer to own the digital content. Especially when so many "lease" service providers stream the music, making them 3G data hogs when used away from a wifi connection. I think there is place in the market for both models. I like using streaming music services to discover new music, which often I'll then purchase.

You have a good point on the amount of content though. There also seems to be a worrying amount of geoblocked content shown too. Although I'm awaiting 100% clarification that this is the cause of the anomaly I saw (tracks that couldn't be previewed or purchased).

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NonprayingMantis

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#647710 28-Jun-2012 16:20

seightch: Am I the only one who thinks this is the lamest thing ever.

It has about 1/30 of of the Itunes collection

and about 1/15 of either Spotify or Music Unlimited.

All successful new music services in the market are based around the leased music model not the old fashion concept of "owning" digital content.

ever heard of iTunes? I thinkyou have since you mention it in your post yet seem to forget it 2 sentences later.

iTunes is the most successful new music service in the market, by an absolutely huge margin. Spotify is the largest streaming music service, and is teeny tiny compared to iTunes

unmetering is irrelevant really since most people will be downloading over wifi at home.

seightch

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#647712 28-Jun-2012 16:28

NonprayingMantis:
seightch: Am I the only one who thinks this is the lamest thing ever.

It has about 1/30 of of the Itunes collection

and about 1/15 of either Spotify or Music Unlimited.

All successful new music services in the market are based around the leased music model not the old fashion concept of "owning" digital content.

ever heard of iTunes? I thinkyou have since you mention it in your post yet seem to forget it 2 sentences later.

iTunes is the most successful new music service in the market, by an absolutely huge margin. Spotify is the largest streaming music service, and is teeny tiny compared to iTunes

unmetering is irrelevant really since most people will be downloading over wifi at home.

When I said new, I was referring to post Itunes successes. Itunes has been around for ages, it was successful before the smartphone revolution, it has pretty much cornered the market especially when it comes to content.

Dingbatt

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#647714 28-Jun-2012 16:32

I think unmetering does matter since you still have to purchase over 3G even if you download the tune over wifi. For billing reasons.

“We’ve arranged a society based on science and technology, in which nobody understands anything about science technology. Carl Sagan 1996

seightch

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#647717 28-Jun-2012 16:37

dclegg:
seightch:
All successful new music services in the market are based around the leased music model not the old fashion concept of "owning" digital content.

Some of us old farts prefer to own the digital content. Especially when so many "lease" service providers stream the music, making them 3G data hogs when used away from a wifi connection. I think there is place in the market for both models. I like using streaming music services to discover new music, which often I'll then purchase.

You have a good point on the amount of content though. There also seems to be a worrying amount of geoblocked content shown too. Although I'm awaiting 100% clarification that this is the cause of the anomaly I saw (tracks that couldn't be previewed or purchased).

Yes I understand, but a couple of points:

Most "streaming" music services have an offline caching mode, where you can "cache" your music before you leave your house.

As technology progresses and NZ moves out of the Dark ages, the cost of Cell data will drop making streaming solutions more affordable.

andyb

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#648028 29-Jun-2012 09:31

Dingbatt: I think unmetering does matter since you still have to purchase over 3G even if you download the tune over wifi. For billing reasons.

The 3G usage for billing authentication before the app switchs back to wifi for download is minimal - between 10-15kb.

andyb

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#648269 29-Jun-2012 15:07

andyb:
Dingbatt: I think unmetering does matter since you still have to purchase over 3G even if you download the tune over wifi. For billing reasons.

The 3G usage for billing authentication before the app switchs back to wifi for download is minimal - between 10-15kb.

So does it switch between the two automatically? Then the only affect will be if you are on casual data.

“We’ve arranged a society based on science and technology, in which nobody understands anything about science technology. Carl Sagan 1996

andyb

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#648328 29-Jun-2012 16:57

Yes - if you are on wifi the app will switch it off, authenticate over 3G, and then turn wifi back on. If you are on wifi it will prompt you , just select ok.

andyb

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#648335 29-Jun-2012 17:10

Ok I took a look and a couple of points.

1. Data should be unbilled on 3G. The whole switching thing is hopeless

2. Tidy up the meta-data. I can see multiple copies of some albums with slightly different titles.

3. Why are some albums only available per-track???

4. Missing content. I had a look for some recent fairly big local stuff and I can't find it.

5. Video's - I don't just want music, especially for singles.

Generally known online as OpenMedia, now working for Red Hat APAC as a Technology Evangelist and Portfolio Architect. Still playing with MythTV and digital media on the side.

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