Groove Mobile and Universal Music UK to Offer Off-Portal Mobile Music Store

Groove Mobile announced a partnership with Universal Music U.K. to build and operate an off-portal mobile music store. Through the partnership, U.K. mobile phone users on any U.K. wireless carrier will have instant access to full track downloads from Universal Music U.K.'s music catalog via SMS short codes sent from their mobile phones.

"Groove Mobile shares our commitment to driving the international digital music business forward through off-portal innovations that deliver mobile music to larger audiences," stated Rob Wells, Senior Vice President, Digital, for Universal Music Group International. "We are enthusiastic about the prospect of bringing our talented artists direct to consumers using SMS short codes in partnership with Groove Mobile."

With the announcement, Groove Mobile and Universal Music U.K. will bring the top hits to wireless customers who send short code messages to Universal Music U.K. artists' WAP stores. Universal Music U.K. is already a recognized player in digital music, taking four of the top five best-selling digital albums in 2006. Groove Mobile is a mobile music service that offers full track mobile downloads, peer-to-peer sharing and personalized music recommendations, personalized and programmed streaming radio, music subscriptions, and more.

"Universal Music U.K. is leveraging the Groove Mobile platform which runs on a majority of the world's music phones in order to provide consumers with the robust downloads they have come to expect when using today's 3G networks," stated Adam Sexton, Chief Marketing Officer of Groove Mobile. "We are proud to partner with Universal Music U.K. and share their commitment to leadership in digital music by bringing mobile phone users in the U.K. the hottest music through off-portal innovations across multiple carriers."

The Universal Music U.K. Music Store powered by Groove Mobile will feature full track music downloads from the Universal Music catalogue of top artists, including Take That, Razorlight, Scissor Sisters, the Killers, Mika, James Morrison and Keane. U.K. mobile phone customers who send code messages will receive links to download full tracks directly to their mobile handsets.