Orange are going to launch their own music streaming service, called Monkey, for mobile phones. The network provider has partnered with Channel4 and Universal Music Group to run the service.

Orange customers who top-up a minimum of £10 a month are eligible for Monkey, which offers 600 minutes of streamed music. By dialing 247, they will be presented with a set of 8 playlists. This pre-loaded set will be updated on a regular basis. Apart from this, customers are also given the choice of making their own playlists by logging on to a dedicated website. Moreover, the service provider will as well send users free offers and promotions according to their tastes, which they determine with the help of mobile advertising specialist, Blyk.

Tom Alexander, chief executive of Orange UK said that Monkey is for everyone and is not restricted to high-end expensive handsets. Pippa Dunn, Orange UK PAYG Head, also mentioned that this service will lure the youth crowd from illegal file sharing. Thus giving them free music and ensuring that artists get paid for their job too.