Mobile network 3 claims key role in Gnarls Barkley Crazy download story
You probably already know plenty about Gnarls Barkley the band who went from zeroes to heroes last week when their single topped the UK charts without any of their CD singles ever going near a record shop.
Well possibly the most intriguing part of this whole downloads beats CD single scenario is that mobile apparently had a huge role in the track’s success. Phone company 3 is claiming that as much as 20 per cent of the total downloads were straight to mobile through its network. Apparently the track is the fastest ever moving audio download on the network with as many 6000 people grabbing it on a daily basis.
Hazarding a guess I reckon much of the success of the 3 download is because, unlike some rival networks, it offers dial downloads with people paying once for a track that lands on their phone the instant they choose it and can then be claimed for playback on their PC later.
Also if 3 had 20% of the downloads, how much came from other networks? There’s a real possibility that as much as half of the download of the track could have been via mobile phone companies.
3 is also offering tracks throughout April and May for 99p each – much better value than the rather extortionate prices it and some of its rival networks initially charged for audio tracks.
