Muve Music Wireless Download Service Rocks 100,000 Users
Prepaid cell phone carrier Cricket Wireless’ music download service Muve Music has garnered over 100,000 customers in five months, which the company says reflects the growing popularity of listening to digital music on mobile devices.
Users, who spend two to three hours tuning in daily, download 400 songs a month on average and have downloaded over 100 million songs in total since the service first went live. Available through phones using Cricket’s wireless plans, such as the Samsung Suede, the service is offered as part of its $55/month unlimited nationwide talk, text, data and Web packages. Making it possible to download and play ringtones, songs and digital albums on-demand, the music service offers an unlimited, all-you-can-eat approach to tracks which enjoys the blessing of major record labels.
While other carriers have yet to implement similar solutions, and audience numbers are still relatively low compared to rival options such as Rhapsody and iTunes, the service appears to be off to a promising start. If it continues to make inroads into the digital music marketplace, more digital music distribution services tailored to cell phone or smartphone owners’ specific needs may be forthcoming.