eMusic makes reasonable mobile deal

From a recent eMusic mail blast:

Announcing eMusic Mobile from eMusic and AT&T!

If you’re thinking about getting a new mobile phone, now’s the perfect time. As of today, eMusic and AT&T are offering "over the air" access to eMusic’s catalogue of over 2.5 million tracks. Owners of select AT&T mobile phones can now sign up for a monthly eMusic Mobile subscription plan. Subscribers will also have access to free MP3 versions of all mobile downloads on the eMusic web site.

A feature of eMusic I've always thought was neat but never had a need for is that once you've bought a track you can download it as many times as you like*. This announcement from eMusic marks the first time (that I'm aware of) that not only are mobile music prices matching those of their more convenient pc-based counterparts, but that the purchases are approaching no-hassle, as your eMusic purchases, whether they take place on your computer or your phone, are one in the same.

I'm teetering on the edge of turning this post into a commercial, but I think this is a fairly big deal. This is the closest I've seen to a mobile music offering that makes sense. For as long as I've heard people in the music business drone on and on about how mobile devices are the future, I have never known a single person that's shown any interest in paying to stream poor-quality music video snippets to their RAZR. I can imagine some people I know actually liking the idea of buying a song once and having it on both their desktop and their cell without sideloading.

[Boring info like compatible phones at eMusic]

* Note: Amie Street also does this.