[June 19] Digital payment specialist iPIN
announced Monday a partnership with pan-European music site
NetBeat that will bring
an array of flexible payment methods to the global music market.
Using iPIN’s technology, NetBeat’s visitors can pay for online
purchases via direct debits from a bank account, or by
being charged on their ISP, telephone, mobile phone or
credit card accounts.
Stephanie Hunt, chief executive of NetBeat, said that because
of the widespread use of cell phones in Europe, iPIN would change
the way NetBeat does business with its customers.
NetBeat offers an extensive selection of hard-to-find music
from independent labels. Founded in 1996 it claims to be
Europe’s most established online music distribution business.
Speaking for iPIN, Chief Executive Brad Rode said that Europe
represented a huge new market for the payments company. He
said he expected NetBeat would help to make iPIN a global
standard for making easy payments “for anything from anywhere.”
“NetBeat is poised to become the leading European music site,
and we believe part of their growth will come from having the
iPIN platform available to customers seeking the best in global
independent music label offerings,” said Rode.
Backed by Wells Fargo, Nexus Group, Accel Partners, and Sutter
Hill Ventures, iPIN has struck deals with merchants and billing
partners worldwide, and is especially strong in the United
States and Asia. Its European headquarters is based in France.
NetBeat gives customers a choice of downloading content or
purchasing it on CD. Following deals with many independent
labels it now has a selection of over 9000 tracks, together
with CDs from major labels. Other services include music
news, concert dates, and live concerts online.
