Mobile Action announces DRM management for music content

Mobile management software provider Mobile Action announced it has developed a secure method for delivering MP3 music and multimedia files to mobile-phone customers using digital rights management. The new technology is part of Fonejoy, an enabling technology that allows digital content providers to securely deliver content for playback on both the PC and mobile phones. It also allows consumers to buy MP3 music files for playback on multiple devices.

The news will be one of several announcements we'll continue to see in this area. Melodeo already has its MobilDRM product that protects music sold on a per-song or subscription basis. The company signed a deal with Verisign's Jamster subsidiary to develop its digital music platform. Ensuring DRM will pave the way for mobile operators offering music on a subscription basis rather than a per-song download-basis. But DRM has been the hurdle to offering subscriptions. Melodeo says an unnamed European carrier will be launching a subscription-based music service this quarter using the company's DRM solution. The subscription model means recurring revenues for operators who now are simply competing with a more expensive version of iTunes by offering songs on a per-download basis. Plus, a customer may opt to pay for a subscription and only use the service once, a notion operators love.

For more about Mobile Action's DRM announcement:
- check out the company's press release