Omnifone, a UK based mobile music company, has launched MusicStation, an all-you-can-eat (AYCE) full-track mobile music service which will be rolled-out in partnership with major music labels, mobile operators and mobile industry partners across the world. The service will allow users access to the world's music on their industry-standard mobiles for £1.99 per week.


"The launch of MusicStation heralds the next generation mobile music experience for the hundreds of millions of mobile phone subscribers worldwide who want a simple, easy-to-use digital music experience," said Rob Lewis, CEO of Omnifone. "MusicStation will give users of any music-capable handset the ability to legally access, download and enjoy an unlimited amount of music, from a global music catalogue supported by the music industry, all for a small weekly fee, wherever they are."

As well as working in collaboration with the world's major music labels, Omnifone has already signed partnerships with 23 mobile network operators, who have subscribers in 40 countries and a total customer base of 690 million subscribers.

Omnifone confirms the countries its partners have active mobile phone networks in include Australia, Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Turkey and UK.

MusicStation will provide a complete music experience, enabling users to search for music, download and play music on their mobile, Mac/PC, create, manage and share playlists and tracks with the MusicStation community, and view the latest music news. Unlike Apple's iPhone, Omnifone says that MusicStation downloads its music over-the-air (OTA) across the MNO's data network, giving users instant access to music, irrespective of their location. MusicStation also works on both 3G and the majority 2.5G marketplace, providing 2.5G subscribers with OTA full music downloads for the first time.

"By leveraging the hundreds of millions of handsets sold every year by operators to deliver MusicStation into the global market, we believe we can give Apple a run for its money in digital music provision", continued Lewis. "The consumer experience of using MusicStation has much in common with that of an iPod, except that with MusicStation users don't need a credit card, computer or broadband connection and can still download and enjoy the world's music, all the time."

Delivering tracks in Enhanced Advanced Audio Coding format (eAAC+), Omnifone's new service also supports industry-strength DRM.

Subscribers will have to pay a small weekly fee to access a comprehensive global catalogue of music drawn from major labels and independents. Pricing in the UK is £1.99 per week for unlimited downloads including data with European pricing set at 2.99 Euros per week. A premium service will offer unlimited music downloads to a subscriber's mobile and Mac/PC desktop for £2.99 per week in the UK and 3.99 Euros per week across the rest of Europe. All charges are inclusive of 2.5G or 3G data.