1. How does Geetune work? Can you explain the subscription system?

Geetune is Singapore's first digital music subscription site which offers unlimited downloads(and plays) of over 150,000 English/Chinese/Malay/World music.

Registration is free but a monthly subscription is required to enjoy the digital downloads.The subscriptions are available in one, three or twelve months' duration for either the PC Edition or 2GO Edition

The Geetune 2GO Edition allows our subscribers to play the music on their portable media players such as MP3/MP4 players or Media Player Mobile Phones. Subscribers can upgrade from the PC version to the 2GO version at any time.

The annual plan has the best value as the subscriber pays for 10 months and gets 2 months for free.The Geetune music subscription system is similar to Cable TV subscription- all music downloaded will stop playing when the subscription ends and resume immediately upon renewal.

The main Geetune Music Selector window allows users to explore all the latest albums in a virtual music store. Albums can be 'flipped' to display tracks with information on that album and track. In addition, users are able to preview the songs at fast speed.

Users can also view the Chinese albums or tracks in English, Simplified or Traditional Chinese. The extensive breath and depth of genres give music lovers plenty of eye and ear candy to explore new and old music quickly and effortlessly.

Geetune users can also store their favourite songs in their personal play list on our server. This feature enables users to quickly re-download their songs to their PC if they have deleted it.

In addition to the unlimited music subscription service, Geetune also provides a community section for users to create their own personal blog pages as well as participate in the user forums.

2. What are the copyright limitations for each downloaded song?

Our songs come from major music label companies, therefore the copyright limitations are the same as any legal digital music and physical audio CDs.

Many people overlook the fine print found on music CDs, which states that the music is only to be used for personal enjoyment. Using the music for broadcasting, public performance,hire, lending or resale is strictly prohibited.

The downloaded songs are tied to the subscription period and will stop playing upon expiry of the subscription and restarts instantly with renewal.

3. Can the songs be burned onto CDs? Or shared with others?

No, our songs cannot be burnt to CDs or be shared with others Technically, you cannot share music CDs or any digital tracks. It is stated on every CD that"unauthorised copying, reproduction, hiring, lending, public performance and broadcasting are prohibited."

However, Geetune subscribers can play all their music on up to three PC that they own.

4. Will the songs be playable on media player programs, such as iTunes, and will theyplay on MP3 players as well?

Most importantly, the Apple iTunes music store is not available in Singapore. The Apple iTunes media player works only with Apple music format such as AAC or AIFF, WAV andMP3. Hence, the iPod and iTunes will not be able to play Geetune music files which are inWindows WMA format.

Our music is compatible with the Microsoft Windows Media Player found on every WindowsPC. Also, some users reported that Geetune music files can be played using the software WinAmp.

The Geetune 2GO upgrade allows our subscribers to sync their music to Windows Vista enabled MP3 players such as Samsung, Creative etc. It will also let users sync music to their Media Player mobile phones from Samsung, Nokia, Motorola, Sony Ericsson, etc.

5. Why would Geetune be a better solution for music lovers as compared to buying CDs?

Music aficionados will love to have unlimited access to an unlimited library of music for theprice of less than one CD.

The Geetune subscription model enables members to access our entire catalog of over150,000 tracks for S$12 monthly subscription without any limitations.

If an average music lover buys just one music CD every two months that will work out to only six CDs in a year.

If the subscriber pays for 10 years of Geetune subscription, it will still be a better value thanpaying for 1,000 tracks, equivalent to 100 physical Audio CDs.

Furthermore, with the freedom of unlimited downloading, Geetunes offers a compelling alternative to a pay per album/track model. No more getting stuck with your older collections when you can get the latest entire collection of your favourite artist or genre without payingmore.

Even with our unlimited download and play subscription, audio quality is kept at a high bit rateof 192kbps which is indiscernible from original music CD.

In summary, no one can claim true ownership of music they buy since they cannot exercise complete and unrestricted control over it. Therefore, music subscription presents a clearer and fairer model for the dedicated music lover.

6. How is it possible for Geetune to offer such low subscription rates?

We believe that subscription charges should be levied depending on the duration of music usage rather than number of downloads since it is more practical.

Subscribers are unlikely to download a million songs a year and listen to every single one.With Geetune, they are able to have the freedom to download any music at any time, thus deterring them to go for pirated music.

Moreover, it took us almost a year to convince major labels like Universal Music to make this unique service available to our subscribers at reasonable and sensible price.

With Singaporean's appetite for cost effective quality buffets, we think that an affordable price would attract more subscribers especially in this new economic climate.

7. Any plans for expansion to other record labels, or into releasing video clips in the future?

We are presently in discussion with major music labels such as Warner Music/EMI, SonyBMG and other independent music labels.

Universal Music is presently the largest music label in the world distributing Disney labels too.

We do have plans to add music videos in the future, but this will depend on the demand from our subscribers.

Mr Lawrence Wong is the CEO of Gajah Media International.