Today's WSJ (subscription required) has an article on the latest consumer offering -- "name that tune" programs.

Want to know what song you are now hearing on the radio, or over the loudspeaker at Starbucks? Hold your cell phone up to the speaker, dial a number, and a text message will tell you the answer. (You must pre-load a program, of course.) The charge for a successful ID -- probably a buck -- appears on your cell bill.

U.S. Rocket Mobile's offering has been downloaded a million times since November, and NYC's NMK has "fielded more than 80,000 calls for its 411-Song service since its April launch," says WSJ.

The article triggers several reactions:
First: "That's insane!"
Second: "Where can I get that?"
Third: "A dollar! People really will pay for music, and quite nicely"
Fourth: "If these programs can work, and the WSJ found they work amazingly well, then copyright protection based on recognition combined with filtering or self-help is coming very rapidly"

posted by James DeLong @ 9:30 AM | Internet: P2P, Search Engines...

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