14 DAY TRIAL // Gracenote announced the deployment of its Mobile Music 2.0 Platform, a solution that provides mobile phone owners with content search and discovery, music recognition and connection to online music stores. The first handsets to offer Gracenote's platform will be the Sony Ericsson W910 Walkman phone and K850 Cyber-shot phone, which will be available in the fourth quarter of 2007.
The Mobile Music 2.0 Platform will power mobile music search and discovery services based on Gracenote's Global Media Database, comprising more than 60 million tracks. The platform can be accessed both from the PC and from the handset. From the PC, users can access Gracenote's Global Media Database to identify CDs, and then transfer the music, and associated album art to handsets equipped with the Mobile Music Platform. Using the mobile phone, consumers can perform music searches by typing an artist name, track, album, or a portion from the lyrics of a song. As a result, the user is connected to an online store offering the found content, such as Sony Ericsson's PlayNow or an operator branded online store. The consumer can then choose to learn more about the artist or song, purchase or view the full track, ringtone, album art, or share it with a friend.
Besides offering typed search capabilities, the platform is also capable of identifying a song by simply "listening" to it. Everything the users have to do is place their handsets in the proximity of a music source or select the mobile's built-in FM radio, and Gracenote's Mobile Music ID service will identify the song, and connect the user to the online store where the found item or related material can be purchased. Based on the user's searches, via Gracenote's Discover service, the platform will provide them with music recommendations using several criteria, such as artist type, origin and genre.
"Gracenote is extremely excited to be expanding our partnership with Sony Ericsson and continuing to be an integral part of enhancing the digital music experience for music phone users," said Jim Hollingsworth, senior vice president sales and marketing, Gracenote. "Gracenote's mobile music platform addresses the increased demand for the combined convenience of a mobile handset, online store and PC, and accelerates the potential of mobile music - for both the consumer and the carriers - through the integration of those three domains."