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Didiom - Cool Music, Nice Little Idea, Can It Get Traction?

Posted on October 9, 2008
Filed Under Digital Music, Web 2.0 (Observations) |

I get a fair few companies pointed out to me either in person, via SS, or sometimes over direct IM (If you’re looking to show me something my contact details are here). And when those projects are pointed out by close friends I tend to giv e them more than a casual glance. So when CC Chapman pointed out a new company he’s working with, that was enough for me to look at the new music service, Didiom.

Pitched as Mobilising your Music, it offers two complementary services - a music store focused on indie labels and new bands (they’ve got a partnership with CD baby for example, and that should mean something to you) and all the music is available as DRM free MP3. The second part allows you to stream music from your PC to your mobile. Something that I’d like to try, but can’t, because at launch it only runs on Blackberry and Windows Mobile. Pah, nothing like ignoring a huge chunk of the market by avoiding a Java app, or addressing the mass of Nokia smartphones or the PR darling of the Apple iPhone.

I’m all for promoting new music and artists (cf TPN Rock) but I’m nto sure that Didiom’s USP is enough to make them stand out. Streaming music out to your mobile puts a massive hit on battery life on the mobile, is going to be very data intensive on your bandwidth, and doesn’t get over the problem of what to do when you’re out of coverage (eg on a plane). With the price of storage dropping every day (SD cards with 8GB capacity are ten a penny at the moment) I can carry the majority of my music collection on any device that takes external storage. My entire iTunes collection is a shade under 25GB, and you can get a 32mbGB iPhone now.

So yes, great implementation, fantastic that the store is promoting good independent music, but I’m not convinced on the core product. As storage prices drop, but cloud computing continues to require a constant connection from your phone, I think Didiom might be an idea that’s a little too early for mass market adoption.