THE harassed Brummie mother may not seem the obvious target for music downloading, but two radio companies reckon that she might be prepared to buy a new James Blunt track if she didn’t have to fiddle with an iPod.

Until now, though, mobile music has struggled against the Apple juggernaut — partly because many operators charge too much at £1.49 a song, but largely because it is simply too slow and unreliable — just like the internet before broadband.

This week, however, UBC Media, the radio tiddler, unveiled plans in conjunction with Chrysalis, the owner of Heart and Galaxy stations, to woo Birmingham woman, aiming at those who are “not sure about plugging an iPod in” — or, perhaps, lack the time to try.

Phil Riley, chief executive of Chrysalis Radio, the first radio group to sign up to UBC’s venture, said: “The type of person who is likely to want the simplicity of pressing a button to download a song are busy mums on the go. Music freaks are not our target market.”

The UBC-Heart plan relies on radically departing from mobile phone technology to let radio listeners buy any song playing on any station by using an integrated digital radio and mobile handset. The new service, to begin operation in Birmingham next month, takes advantage of new types of handsets that combine an ordinary phone with a digital radio in a way that is more efficient than third-generation technology.

All songs available for purchase are stored on the phone. When they are bought, all that happens is that an unlock key is purchased, far quicker to download than an actual song — which can take up to 90 seconds on a third-generation mobile. Pricing is yet to be decided, but it will be either 99p or £1.25 a song.

With this in mind, it is no surprise that the owner of easy-listening, female-focused Heart was UBC’s first choice. “A woman may like the Will Young track she heard on Heart and would like to buy it quickly and easily,” Mr Riley says. “She may not be sure about plugging an iPod in and leads a very busy life.”

It also creates the possibility, at long last, of a new source of revenue for the embattled commercial radio companies; the problem is that it is unlikely to produce enough revenue to counteract the crisis in advertising. Paul Richards, an analyst for Numis Securities, said: “I’m not sure about it being a significant alternative revenue source. It is useful, but it won’t displace advertising any time soon.”

Simon Cole, UBC’s chief executive, raised £3 million from existing shareholders to support development of the new technology. To get the cash, he presented a business plan, suggesting that the service will have 1.2 million users by 2012, each downloading six tracks a month, and generating annual revenues of £95 million. By contrast, radio advertising generated £579 million last year — a dire period for the sector.

Crucially, the service relies on availability of the new digital radio/ mobile phones — and lots of them. LG and Samsung, from South Korea, where radio, and television, over mobile is already big business, plan to increase volumes ahead of Christmas. Virgin Mobile is also planning to introduce an integrated phone in late summer, although it does not yet have any plans for paid-for downloading. However, the phones are not here yet.

Mr Cole remains optimistic, though, saying: “Radio has been driving the purchase of music for the last 50 years, but there was a gap between listening and buying. We’re closing the gap, helping to create a new form of impulse purchase.”

Mr Cole will need to get others on board if he is to make his idea a winner and he is, no doubt, speaking to the likes of GCap and Emap. However, Chrysalis has, he says, “a short period of exclusivity”, of several months, while the two try to galvanise consumer interest.

Although it is early days, this idea and similar moves to embrace new technology to create new revenue streams will increase pressure on the traditional high street music retailer.

Yet even the man from Chrysalis is not so sure. “This in itself is unlikely to leave HMV quaking in its boots,” Mr Riley said. “But it illustrates that there’s a long-term drive towards getting music electronically. Will this mean the demise of the high street? No, I don’t think so, as people like to own the CD of their favourite artist.”

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