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Over-the-Air Music Download Service Gives Customers More Mobile Music Choice
SAN ANTONIO, July 31 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) has announced
the launch of an over-the-air music download service with eMusic, the world's
largest retailer of independent music. The eMusic over-the-air (OTA) service will
give AT&T's customers the ability to preview and purchase music via their
wireless devices from a catalog of 2.7 million songs, the nation's largest wireless
music catalog. This new service is part of the AT&T Mobile Music platform,
which provides customers with more music choices than any other wireless carrier.
Songs purchased from eMusic Mobile are immediately sent to the user's wireless
handset, and a duplicate copy is available for download to the user's PC at no
charge. AT&T customers can subscribe to download five tracks a month for $7.49,
and additional packages of five songs are available for the same price whenever
desired.
"eMusic Mobile is not your typical over-the-air service," said Mark Collins,
vice president of Consumer Data Services for AT&T's wireless unit. "This service,
which is as unique as the independent artists found in the eMusic catalog, differentiates
itself from the competition through its ease of use, subscription pricing model
and the ability to play these tracks in any MP3 player."
"eMusic Mobile will expand the audience for mobile music beyond the youth market
by offering an alternative to the mainstream pop hits that have so far dominated
over-the-air music," said David Pakman, eMusic president and CEO. "AT&T is
a terrific partner for this service, and we look forward to offering AT&T's
more than 63.7 million subscribers access to a rich catalogue that ranges from
legends like Paul McCartney and Miles Davis to new independent stars such as Spoon
and Arcade Fire."
eMusic Mobile will prove to be a valuable tool for music discovery when users
are on the go, hear a song on the radio or in a store, and want to hear it again.
The service allows for the preview of tracks before purchase and is perfect for
making sure that same great song is the right one before purchase.
eMusic Mobile will be initially available on some of AT&T's most robust music
devices, with many to be added in the future. Users of the Samsung a717, a727,
new versions of the popular Samsung SYNC and the Nokia N75 will be able to access
the eMusic wireless store by clicking on the music note key, choosing the Shop
Music option and then selecting eMusic.
eMusic Mobile also offers customers more value with dual delivery of purchased
tracks. When a customer purchases a song from a wireless handset, a DRM-free track
is delivered to the phone while a second version is delivered to the user's home
computer for use in his or her larger music library or with any music player supporting
the MP3 format.
Customers can access the eMusic wireless site in just three clicks from compatible
handsets and do not have to subscribe to the service to preview songs, though
AT&T strongly recommends an unlimited data plan before previewing tracks.
The new eMusic service complements AT&T's existing mobile music offerings,
which include the ability to transfer songs from a PC to a wireless handset from
popular music subscription services such as Napster, in addition to eMusic. AT&T
was also the first and only U.S. carrier to offer a phone with iTunes capability
in 2005 and launched the Apple iPhone in June of this year.
For more information, visit http://www.wireless.att.com/emusic or http://www.emusic.com/emusicmobile.
For the complete array of AT&T offerings, visit www.att.com.
About eMusic
eMusic is the world's leading digital retailer of independent music, second only
to iTunes in number of downloads sold. The eMusic Web site offers a global catalogue
of more than 2.7 million tracks from established and emerging artists in every
genre from the world's leading independent labels. Created by music experts for
music fans, it features award-winning editorial content, a vibrant online community
and unrivaled music discovery tools. A subscription-based service that offers
25 free downloads at sign-up, eMusic gives consumers an inexpensive, low-risk
way to explore great new music they wouldn't find otherwise, and unlike other
download services, its universally compatible MP3 files play on any device including
the iPod(R). Based in New York with an office in London, eMusic.com Inc. is wholly
owned by Dimensional Associates, Inc., the private equity arm of JDS Capital Management,
Inc.
About AT&T
AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) is a premier communications holding company. Its subsidiaries
and affiliates, AT&T operating companies, are the providers of AT&T services
in the United States and around the world. Among their offerings are the world's
most advanced IP-based business communications services and the nation's leading
wireless, high speed Internet access and voice services. In domestic markets,
AT&T is known for the directory publishing and advertising sales leadership
of its Yellow Pages and YELLOWPAGES.COM organizations, and the AT&T brand
is licensed to innovators in such fields as communications equipment. As part
of its three-screen integration strategy, AT&T is expanding its TV entertainment
offerings. Additional information about AT&T Inc. and the products and services
provided by AT&T subsidiaries and affiliates is available at http://www.att.com/.
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