San Francisco-based digital music distributor
IODA has
partnered with Chinese peer
R2G.net to launch the
Wawawa Music Store, a new subscription service catering to mainland Chinese customers. According to reports, Wawawa will
provide customers with 88 full-length DRM-free downloads for 20 yuan, or $2.93, each month. The door
remains open for other independent labels to offer music via the service, but for now -- a week before the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics -- IODA will be the lone Western music provider on Wawawa.
IODA says the Wawawa store will also feature unlimited streaming content, useful to Chinese consumers who connect via Internet cafes. Music piracy is rampant in China, although IODA cites a
study suggesting that a third of Chinese Internet users said they would pay for downloadable music if it improved the user experience, depth of catalog and music discovery process.
IODA, which distributes digital music files for thousands of independent labels, has stepped up its international distribution lately. The company
partnered with Telefonica in June to reach mobile customers in 24 countries, among other deals. During the spring, IODA also
introduced a digital storefront platform that allows artists and labels to create their own stores.
-- Paul Bonanos
For more see
Billboard and
Hypebot
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