KDDI's Chaku-Uta Hits 100M Downloads
KDDI has announced that their EZ “Chaku-Uta” service achieved the one hundred million song download plateau on July 5, 2004. Since its introduction, EZ “Chaku-Uta” has continued to improve, adding an AAC codec for improved sound quality and stereo playback. Also, with the cooperation of record companies, au has been able to provide more and more new songs from artists, even before they are released on CD. As a result, EZ “Chaku-Uta” is becoming established as a way to enjoy the latest releases first.
Currently, 134 web-sites support EZ “Chaku-Uta(r)”, with a total of over 60,000 songs. All handsets currently on sale by au support the service (as of the end of June 2004, the number of handset subscribers supporting EZ “Chaku-Uta(r)” was 11.16 million). An additional service, which allows users to easily download the currently-playing song as a ring-tone, is also offered for au handsets equipped with an FM tuner. Via: Japan Corporate News Network.