April 09, 2009

By By Howell Llewellyn, Madrid

Vodafone Spain is offering an all-you-can-eat subscription streaming music service without additional cost to subscribers, powered by RealNetworks, as well as making a-la-carte downloads available for purchase in DRM-free format.

All four major labels are on board, as well as the majority of independent Spanish labels.

"These are pioneer services that I don't think have been offered by any other operator in the world as part of a flat fee," says Vodafone Live! Spain marketing director Pablo Barallat. "It suits both the customer who likes unlimited music content without paying more, and the music industry which will have a profitable model to do business."

The new service costs ?12 ($15.77) a month, which is the normal price of a data plan. This means that users are essentially getting music for free, says Barallat.

After an introductory period, the price will go up to ?16 ($21.04) a month.

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