Omnifone targets 10m UK music subscribers.

MusicStation launches as other retailers scale back digital services

Omnifone says it is aiming for 10m subscribers to its new subscription service by the end of 2008.

The company's faith in the UK warming to the idea of music subscriptions, declared as it launched its MusicStation service with Vodafone last week, came amid mixed fortunes for the rental business model.

The Official Charts Company announced last Thursday plans for a new official chart tracking the most-played tracks on subscription services, a move that could give a massive boost in visibility to the concept. However, the announcement came the same day that it was revealed HMV had closed down its subscription service, although the retailer says it will be launching a revamped offering next year.

The closure of HMV Unlimited follows the closure earlier in the year of Virgin Retail's subscription service, Yahoo! and Real's decisions not to launch subscription services in the UK, and Napster's decision to scale back its UK operations.

Nevertheless, Omnifone CEO Rob Lewis cites SK Telecom's MelOn service in South Korea, which allows users access to more than 700,000 tracks for 5,000 won (#2.64) per month, as an example of a successful mobile subscription service.

"MelOn has a 10% uptake - 10% of the customers who were offered it took it up. Globally, by the end of the year there'll be 50m people who'll have access to the Omnifone service, and by June 2008 there'll be 100m," says Lewis. "We'd be delighted if 10% of people who had access to this take it up.