Vodafone and
Sony NetServices
have sealed a partnership to deliver personalised radio channels streamed to 3G
mobile phones and personal computers.
The firms said that the Vodafone Radio DJ service provides access to current
and back-catalogue songs from the world's largest record companies and many
smaller independent labels.
Customers can access streamed radio channels, bespoke collections and
channels defined by themselves.
A personalisation system enables customers to 'train' the pre-programmed
radio channels to their own tastes by pressing a button to indicate 'like' or
'dislike' while listening to a song. If a customer presses 'dislike' the music
skips to the next song.
Sony NetServices' classification of each song, which analyses beat and
harmonies as well as genre and mood, aims to help customers receive more songs
that have characteristics in common with songs that are liked, while avoiding
those that are disliked.
Songs purchased on either mobile phone or PC will be available to download on
both devices, with a separate stereo copy being delivered individually to each.
Personal settings and channels created on the mobile phone will also be
accessible from the PC.
The service will be offered on a monthly subscription for unlimited listening
on both mobile phone and PC. There will be no extra charge to the consumer for
the data traffic needed to deliver the music to either device.
Vodafone Radio DJ will be launched in the UK, France, Germany, Italy,
Portugal and Spain in the coming months. It will then be rolled out to more than
20 countries worldwide over the following 12 months.
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