Ericsson and Napster said today they’ll create a mobile music service to sell to mobile operators. The white-label system will offer PC-based and over-the-air downloads, as well as support multiple flavors of DRM, not just the Microsoft technology employed by Napster’s PC service, so as to accommodate OMA DRM.
The system will support both subscription plans and individual sales, as well as let operators sell all the usual types of mobile content: ringtones, wallpapers, videos and so on.
But El Reg hits the nail on the head when it highlights the fundamental difference between this plan (as well as Nokia’s collaboration with Loudeye) and the Apple-Motorola combo: this one caters to operators, rather than cutting them out. Any bets on which will be more successful?