So almost six months after struggling handset manufacturer Motorola acquired online and mobile music distribution company Soundbuzz, Motorola has launched music distribution service MotoMusic in India. MotoMusic powers the MOTOROKR E8, two versions of which are priced at Rs. 15.455 and Rs. 13,999 respectively. The launch of MotoMusic is significant, since it comes before the launch of Nokia's content service Ovi. Value Chain: This is what the value chain looks like, with a handset manufacturer also becoming a content aggregator. This should, ideally, result in increasing efficiencies, and hence offer a greater margin to Motorola: Pricing, Distribution and content partners: Pricing: What are they thinking?: Really, what is the music labels, Motorola, Mobile Operators thinking? Who's going to pay Rs. 19.99 per song, when most of the music is available cheaper on CDs. Digitial distribution is cheaper than audio cassettes. You're offering the consumer the convenience of selecting his music, but with the same music available much cheaper openly on P2P networks and grey markets, Rs. 19.99 per song is really pushing it. Give them an affordable option of Rs. 5 per song, and they're more likely to pay. Payment Method: An interesting addition is the Music Card (details), which allows users to Buy and Gift users a Music Card for purchasing music. The denominations are from Rs. 50-500. Uhh...which a minimum amount of Rs. 50, I guess one can buy 2.5 songs (at Rs. 19.99/song). If you're buying these cards online, then you'll have to pay by credit card.…
