Digital music store set to create waves

M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Move over iTunes Music Store! a new independent online music store has began its operation by offering new songs from local performers, including some of the more obscure acts from the country's remotest regions.

The online music store IM:port, which stands for Independent Music Portal, began its operation on Nov. 25, offering over 1,000 copy protected tunes for customers to download.

Each song is priced at Rp 5,000 (50 US cents), slightly cheaper than the 79 US cents offered by Apple's iTunes.

But unlike music from iTunes which can be played on an iPod, songs from IM:port are only playable on cellular phones, after customers download them from an online store or vending machine.

Yes, vending machines. Given the limited use of credit cards among the youth and the low Internet-literacy among the general public, IM:port has decided to provide vending machines available at Fuji Image Plaza shops as its surrogate to sell songs.

One vending machine provides -- similar to those available at every mall in the city which sell ringtones or wallpaper for bored cell phone users -- a screen from which customers can choose songs.

With a blue tooth connection, cell phone users can download songs from the vending machine.

Songs can also be downloaded using a short message service (SMS) to IM:port number and buyers will be given a code to play the selected songs. The cost for downloading the song will be automatically deducted from the buyer's credit.

Songs cannot be downloaded directly to a personal computer, as such a method would encourage piracy.

A number of local acts, including the likes of rock n' roll band Slank, Malaysian pop crooner Siti Nurhaliza and pop singer Kris Dayanti have signed deals with IM:port.

IM:port co-founder rock producer Anang Hermansyah said that the online service was conceived to nurture the independent spirit among the country's aspiring musicians.

"Bands or musicians from all over the country can record their songs, mail them to us or register with us and we will upload them in our store and they can monitor them through the Internet in real time," Anang told a press briefing recently.

The husband of pop singer Kris Dayanti said that online music publishing was a must in the digital era. "Some of the songs that succeed in earning spots on the Billboard chart are from independent artists who publish their songs through online music stores," he said.

Anang added that only songs that have good sonic quality and contain no explicit contents could be put on offer.

Another co-founder of IM:port jazz musician Indra Lesmana said that although individual songs with an MP3 audio format have been compressed to less than one mega-byte, it still will be of good quality, listenable enough on gadgets like Nokia N Series and SonyEricsson Walkman Series.

Researchers at IM:port however, are now working on building an iPod-like gadget, that will serve as a player for tunes downloaded from the online store.

To build the much-needed hype for its new service, IM:port has struck a deal with Miles music, a new record label subsidiary of Miles Film, for the release of soundtracks to the studio's upcoming film Garasi.

Two songs from the film Bukan (No) and Hilang (Lost) are available for download from www.importmusic.com or can be purchased from vending machines at Fuji Image Plaza shops in seven locations in Jakarta and Bandung.

Executives at Modern Putra Indonesia, the parent company of Fuji Image Plaza are optimistic that hundreds of such vending machines will be in operation in early 2006.

On the net: www.importmusic.com