14 DAY TRIAL // Groove Mobile, the most important mobile music service provider in the world, officially announced its involvement in a project with Vodafone UK, in order to give mobile users access to off-portal music services at lower costs. For the beginning, users will have access to music from Sony BMG and in the future other labels will be accessible too. Mobile subscribers will be able to download full songs with ease and at low costs, through SMS short codes.
"Cost incurred by labels to distribute music on a digital platform remains the single biggest barrier to off-portal music sales and one of the largest inhibitors to growth in the off-portal sector in general", said Adam Sexton, Chief Marketing Officer of Groove Mobile. "With this service, Groove Mobile will provide labels with the power to sell their artist's music directly to fans. Music consumers in the UK will now be able to get immediate access to the hottest tracks simply by sending a SMS."
The announced service is the first of its kind and it's based on full-track over-the-air downloads. These full-song over-the-air (OTA) downloads will let users enjoy their latest favorite music in a convenient manner. Groove Mobile, Vodafone and Sony BMG will collaborate to make sure that customers are happy with the service, as it's an important step for the future of mobile music.
Ray De Silva, Strategic Business Development Manager for Vodafone UK, explained: "Rich media services have to an extent been held back by complicated pricing in the past, something that Vodafone is addressing. Vodafone is undertaking a three month trial with Groove Mobile aiming to stimulate 'off portal' downloads by simplifying the payment process. Additional details on plans for further roll out will be provided once we have received the results of the trial."
The Digital Business Development Manager of Sony BMG UK, Alex Vlassopulos, declared: "We are committed to evolving the growing mobile music market with innovative services that help get our music into the hands of more consumers. This service is a perfect extension of our integrated marketing efforts, allowing mobile users to access music tracks simply and securely from our artists WAP stores with the push of a button. Participating artists include Usher, Westlife, Shayne Ward, Faithless, Kasabian and Chris Brown."
Groove Mobile manages the first-rated mobile music service from UK and has launched US's first mobile music service: the Sprint Music Store. Plus, having agreements all over the world with labels, digital distributors and independent artists, Groove Mobile holds an exclusive position in the music industry. This fact makes it easy for the company to help expand the world's mobile music market and to take it to the next level.