(* Source: Paul Resnikoff  *)

Mobile phones are frequently viewed as a distinct media environment, separate from other platforms like PCs and television.  But as mobile devices increasingly assume computer-like characteristics and reach beyond carrier-provided signals, their status as a separate platform is starting to erode.  "The question is whether it makes sense anymore to license for a platform, or if we are now talking about a pervasive experience," said Ted Cohen, head of digital consultancy TAG Strategic, during an executive roundtable at MusEXPO in Los Angeles on Monday.

Cohen pointed to an oncoming generation of handhelds that include WiFi browsing and offer easy connectivity to PC-based collections.  Indeed, that future is already among us, and the emerging media consumer is clearly a cross-platform animal.  "It never made sense to license separately for mobile," said Ian Rogers, former head of Yahoo Music and current chief executive of Topspin.  "Mobile will eventually start to look more like the internet, and at that point, it stops making sense to view it as a completely different model."

Others etched a similar vision of convergence.  "It will be very difficult to tell the difference between a laptop on WiFi or WiMax and a mobile device, and you might make phone calls on both," said Chris Barton, strategic partnership development manager at Google.

But the ex-Yahoo Rogers touched upon the somewhat restrictive nature of the current mobile platform, one heavily controlled by carriers.  And that mostly defines today's landscape for mobile music and media, at least for those wanting to promote, sell, or acquire content on handhelds.

For carriers and major content owners, the present-day environment offers an easier mechanism for controlling customer billing relationships and extracting dollars from content.  "It really comes down to where the billing relationship is," explained David Pakman, chief executive of eMusic.  And that existing relationship makes its advantageous for carriers and other stakeholders to preserve the existing landscape.

But despite that carefully-crafted moneymaking machine, attendees continued to question the power of mobile platforms to deliver solid, independent revenue streams.  One pointed to a growing threat from tiny, flash-based storage cards, easily swappable among users.  Another pointed to side-loading among users, who predictably want to extend their massive, PC-based collections onto their devices.

Meanwhile, consumers are now getting ready for a beefed-up iPhone, perhaps the vanguard of a more sophisticated, powerful mobile device class that is stretching beyond carrier-imposed limitations.