Scott Lyons, Motorola's Director of EMEA Market Development, Ecosystem and Market Development, will present "Mobile Music — Learning How to Play Before You Can Fast Forward" at the upcoming MOTODEV Summits in London and Beijing. MOTODEV recently caught up with Scott and asked him a few questions about his session and about mobile media.

Q. Why is your session important, and what will attendees learn?

A. This session will provide an insight into the mobile music market and details of the music industry with the goal of inspiring the audience to create the next "killer music app."

Q. The description of your session says, "The Mobile Music Market is maturing." What does that really mean?

A. It is now accepted that mobile devices are capable of playing a whole range of multimedia, including music. These features have been available for several years, and the market and related business models — WAP content purchase and subscription-based services, for instance — are now maturing and actually making money. Manufacturers including Motorola are now making devices that are optimized for music, which has come as result of consumer demand.

Q. Tell us about some of the trends in the mobile music market.

A. Consumers are spending a lot more on purchasing content over the air, with the forecast for double-digit growth over the next few years. There is also a trend in the purchasing and development of music-related mobile accessories like stereo headphones, Bluetooth adapters, etc. This area is growing fast.

Q. Can you give us a quick overview of the existing DRM models?

A. DRM is such a hot topic, and depending on who you talk to, you will get very different viewpoints. Most content is protected with some form of DRM like OMA or Janus when purchased in a digital format. However, there are now alternatives being provided by forward-thinking companies like EMI and some of the independent labels. Simply by paying a higher price you can purchase a higher-quality DRM-free file from some online music retailers. The jury is out as to how successful this will be, but the debate will continue as long as you can go and buy a physical CD that's DRM-free.

Q. What’s the coolest mobile music application you’ve seen developed for a Motorola phone?

A. I'm a huge fan of Shazam and Gracenote's music ID service. I use it quite a lot when I'm out in a bar and want to know what track is playing. I find it very addictive and am totally hooked. The great thing is that their services are expanding beyond ID and will soon be recommending music and suggesting tracks depending on your mood.

Q. Describe the typical mobile media consumer.

A. Well, traditionally these were early adopters as only top-end devices were capable of playing a wide range of media. Now that this has cascaded across entire device portfolios, everyone can get in on it. In my opinion, a typical consumer uses their mobile as their secondary device alongside their main MP3 player. This is starting to change as the capabilities of mobile phones develop and compete with standalone MP3 players.

Q. What will it take for mobile phones to supplant standalone media players as the mobile media delivery vehicle?

A. There is a simple answer to this — once mobile phones can actually provide the same, if not better, experience of a standalone player. What I mean by that is simple management of music, 3.5 mm jacks, long battery life, exceptional user interface ...

We're not far off this, and in 2008 we should be there.