An online music store specialising in unsigned Irish artists has announced that customers can now pay for downloads using a mobile phone instead of a credit card.
Downloadmusic.ie hosts material from over 160 Irish artists and compiles a weekly chart based on sales. Songs can be purchased for 99c and every Friday at 3pm the chart is published online.
Downloadmusic.ie is also recognised as an authorised digital music service and as such music sold on the site is recognised by IRMA and counted in the official Irish chart.
To coincide with sales from downloadmusic.ie contributing to the official Irish chart, songs can now be paid for via mobile phone. This is presently restricted to Republic of Ireland customers.
The reason for this move, according to a site spokersperson, is that many artists believe an alternative to credit card payment is essential to assist sales and gain exposure as there is a lack of credit cards in the target market. The spokersperson said that Downloadmusic.ie is the first Irish website to provide a mobile payment option for independent music.
To pay for downloads, shoppers text ‘music’ to 57033. They immediately receive a code via text message to their mobile phone, from which 99c plus a 21c surcharge is billed/deducted. This code can then be used like a voucher to buy a song from the site.
By Niall Byrne
