Universal Music Group and 3 UK Join Groove Mobile’s Direct
to Consumer Music Service
September 27, 2007
Groove Mobile, the world’s leading mobile music service provider,
announced that Universal Music Group (UMG) and 3 UK will join Vodafone
UK in its industry leading direct to consumer off-portal data service.
As part of the service, 3 UK consumers have access to both UMG and
Sony BMG’s catalogues of music on portal and off portal. The
direct to consumer offering allows users to easily access full track
music downloads Over-the-Air (OTA) via SMS short codes without the
fear of incurring additional high data charges.
"With off-portal data services continuing to gain traction
in the UK, we are excited to open our service to include UMG, expanding
our library of music to provide even greater entertainment choices
for consumers," said Adam Sexton, Chief Marketing Officer of
Groove Mobile. "With the addition of 3 UK customers we will
make the service available to an even larger audience, allowing
them to access music tracks from their favorite artists by simply
sending a text message."
The costs incurred by record labels to distribute their artists’
music on the mobile platform have been a barrier to adoption of
direct to consumer initiatives in the past. Groove Mobile has worked
with Vodafone and 3 UK to simplify the payment process and data
charges for off portal content, thus controlling the costs passed
on to consumers. Sony BMG and now UMG will have the power to reach
out to mobile users directly, giving them immediate access to new
music with Groove Mobile’s text trigger services.
"As we continue to seek out new ways to reach consumers directly,
this initiative with Groove Mobile is a perfect complement to our
growing digital portfolio," said Rob Wells, senior vice president-Digital,
Universal Music Group International. "Mobile subscribers will
have access to WAP stores from popular and emerging artists including
Amy Winehouse, Kanye West, Timbaland, Mika, Mr. Hudson, Kaiser Chiefs
and Pharoahe Monch and can download music seamlessly and on the
go."
Groove Mobile is uniquely positioned to leverage its expertise
and relationships in the music industry to help carriers navigate
the mobile music space. With worldwide agreements with leading independent
artists, labels and digital distributors, Groove Mobile is leading
the evolution of the global mobile music market by developing the
mobile phone into the music player of choice.
"We understand the needs of today’s consumer and the
plethora of content available to them both on and off-deck,"
said Rory Maguire, 3 UK’s Head of Third Party Services. "Our
goal is to provide users with the most convenient and cost-effective
options to access great media services on their mobile devices."
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