MySpace and iTunes face challenge from 3 services

Mobile operator 3 is launching a mobile blogging service and is considering selling music online in separate moves that will see it take on industry giants MySpace and Apple’s iTunes.

Mobile operator 3 is launching a mobile blogging service and is considering selling music online in separate moves that will see it take on industry giants MySpace and Apple’s iTunes.

The mobile blogging service is called Kink Kommunity and has been running on 3’s network in Australia since October last year. Aimed at 18- to 24-year-olds, the service allows users to set up personal profiles, chat to each other and comment on other’s postings within a moderated walled garden.

The Kink service was developed by Perth-based agency Loop Creative, currently the subject of a takeover bid from fellow Australians Adultshop.com. Customers will pay &£1.50 per month to use the service.

The online music store would allow users to buy tracks on their PC or on their mobile and transfer the songs between the two devices. This would enhance its existing “dual download” service, which lets customers buy tracks on their mobile and transfer them to a PC or portable music device.

Although no launch date has been set, Mark Joseph, head of content products at 3, appears to confirm it will go ahead soon. He says/ “We will offer a more integrated solution. You will shortly be able to buy from three.co.uk.”

The company already accounts for a significant proportion of digital music sales in the UK, reaching 1 million paid-for music downloads in April. It claims to account for 4% of all single sales in the UK and 17% of the digital download market.