Reiter's Wireless Podcast Report

Motorola iRadio interested in podcasts, music for its "Get Heard Network"

Motorola is soliciting content for its iRadio service, including podcasts.  The iRadio Web site includes a form for submitting a "webcast/podcast" to be considered part of the new computer-to-cellular-phone service (see below), as I wrote a few days ago.

The form also may be used for submitting your own regularly scheduled -- daily, weekly or monthly -- music channel.

Motorola's Web site says, "The goal of any musician, independent label or podcast is exposure.  Join the iRadio Get Heard Network and a nationwide audience of Motorola iRadio-enabled mobile phone users will have access to the radio station you create."

Motorola's iRadio to enables "radio" via phone but no wireless downloads

Motorola's new iRadio service -- that it has been talking about for a year or so -- will allow subscribers to download (not stream) hundreds of "channels" to their computers for transfer to iRadio-enabled cellular phones, but won't offer downloads via cellular.  I discussed iRadio yesterday in my CTIA WICWeblog article, and today notice that Stan Sorensen, senior director of product management and marketing for Melodeo (a wireless podcast and music software platform company), disparages iRadio for the lack of wireless downloading capability.

Sorensen writes in his excellent wireless podcast-oriented weblog:

"Radio doesn't require going through a PC.  But because Moto is using the ROKR as it's [sic] primary iRadio phone they have no choice.  Personally I don't see myself sifting through 435 channels using the Moto UI, downloading my choices to a PC, then tethering my phone.

"Why does this supposedly leading edge mobile phone company continue to ignore the mobile part of the equation?

"Oh, and with Mobilcast I have access to more than 400 stations, we call them podcasts, and I can download directly to my phone.  Over the air.  The way a phone was designed to be used."

Motorola's philosophy

Motorola obviously sees the revenue opportunities for wireless music, but has a "political" problem entering the business of wireless downloads because the cellular operators are getting into that market, and the operators don't want competition from a hardware supplier.

I certainly do see cellular subscribers transferring their music -- and podcasts -- to phones via computers.  With Apple iTunes charging $.99 for songs and other Internet-based music portals charging similar prices, subscribers are used to downloading music to computers and then into their iPods and other digital music players.

It's no great stretch -- no stretch at all, actually -- to substitute a cellular phone for a music player.  This assume consumers will want to listen to music on their phones.  I believe they will.

Questions

A big question is:  How many music portals will subscribers use? 

iTunes already satisfies the needs of many iPod users and the service also includes downloads of videos, audiobooks, television programs and free podcasts.  Consumers who aren't in the iTunes camp use a variety of other music portals.

Will consumers pay $7 a month -- the price Motorola has named -- for iRadio, in addition to other cellular services?

Also, I wonder what role -- if any -- podcasts will play in the iRadio mix.