UK Digital Radio Station to Offer Windows Media Downloads

UK Digital Radio Station to Offer Windows Media Downloads
October 5, 2006
By Bill Rosenblatt

UK digital radio station Heart FM has been beta testing a new service that will enable consumers with Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB)-enabled mobile phones to purchase songs they hear on the station as permanent downloads using Windows Media DRM.  The first device to offer the service is the Virgin Lobster DAB handset, which is made by HTC of Taiwan.  The service is expected to go live in early 2007.

The Heart FM/Lobster service will provide two copies of each file, a low-fidelity (24kbps) one for listening on the phone and a high-fidelity (128kbps) version available over the Internet for PCs.  Songs will cost GBP 1.25 (US $2.35) each.

This development is a parallel to US satellite radio receivers like the Sirius S50 and the XM Pioneer Inno, which can record songs off the air in Windows Media format.  The US music industry is suing XM over its receiver/recorder devices, claiming that its functionality goes beyond the recording features in analog terrestrial receivers and therefore requires a royalty payment that XM refuses to make -- while Sirius is paying the royalties. 

Of course, DAB is a terrestrial (not satellite) digital broadcasting medium, which makes it more similar to HD Radio in the US and other markets.  Digital radio provides better quality and reliability than most mobile voice networks for lengthy data downloads, making it an interesting -- if less widely available -- way of developing the mobile music market.