Shazam Entertainment, the innovative mobile music service, today announced the launch of the world’s first ‘Tag to Download’ service, in partnership with Mean Fiddler, Britain’s largest live music organiser.
The deal will enable users to tag a song using Shazam’s music recognition service and download the full chosen track or ringtone from the Mean Fiddler website – elevating the ubiquity of mobile phones to distribute and promote mobile music to another level.
Once a track has been tagged using Shazam’s 2580 service, the user receives a reverse-charge SMS with a short code to text to download their chosen track from Mean Fiddler website. This is the first time mobile users will be able to ‘tag’ a song and download it directly from the Internet.
Dean James, Chief Operating Officer, Mean Fiddler said, “We are looking forward to working alongside Shazam to provide this innovative service to music lovers across the UK. We plan to extend our services across Europe, the US and Asia, and this deal testifies to our commitment to achieving that goal. The service is simple to use and a great way to promote music through mobile and online technology.”
Matt McCann, Business Affairs Director at Shazam Entertainment, added, “Mean Fiddler is a well known and trusted company within the industry and this latest deal highlights the ever-increasing benefits that mobile technology provides for consumers and artists alike. It is the first time a campaign like this has been implemented and these developments are an example of the accessibility of music, enabling users to digitally download material at their leisure.”
All downloads will cost £1.50 and will appear on the users’ monthly bill.
Shazam already boasts a world’s first in music recognition technology, and has successfully introduced a consumer service to thirteen countries, including the UK, and has attracted more than a million users. Shazam’s technology allows music fans to use any mobile phone to identify a track, simply by pointing it at the music source and dialing a short code (e.g. 2580 in the UK or 44933 in Italy). The user receives an SMS ‘tag’ within seconds, giving details of title and artist. In the UK alone, consumers have already ‘tagged’ more than 4 million tracks.