Empresas y finanzas

STRICTLY EMBARGOED TO 00.01AM (BST) 14/06/2007 MusicStation Goes Live



    Omnifone, the UK based mobile music company announces
    MusicStation, the revolutionary all-you-can-eat (AYCE) full-track
    mobile music service, goes live today, allowing mobile phone users to
    gain unlimited access to full music tracks on industry-standard
    mobiles for a small weekly fee.

    "MusicStation's launch today heralds the beginning of the next
    generation of mobile music. Hundreds of millions of mobile phone
    subscribers worldwide will soon gain the ultimate music freedom - the
    ability to download and play unlimited amounts of music, wherever they
    are, through a fantastic easy-to-use digital music experience, which
    works on almost any phone," said Rob Lewis, CEO of Omnifone.

    He added, "Consumers will have the ability to legally access,
    download and enjoy an unlimited amount of music, from an international
    and localised music catalogue, supported by the whole music industry,
    all for a small weekly fee. MusicStation users can download music,
    wherever they are, at any time and with no charge for data."

    MusicStation goes live

    The first MusicStation handsets arrived in stores today with
    Scandinavian operator Telenor becoming the first of many operators to
    make MusicStation available to its subscribers. Following this first
    launch in Sweden, an extensive series of additional rollouts in
    Europe, Asia-Pacific and Africa are imminent and due for announcement
    in the coming days and weeks. In each case, Omnifone will announce the
    launch only on the day handsets arrive in retail outlets.

    As well as Sweden, Omnifone confirms it has now entered into
    partnerships with 30 mobile operators with networks in the following
    territories: Australia, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, France,
    Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy,
    Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Portugal,
    Romania, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey
    and the UK.

    Telenor CEO Johan Lindgren, said, "We are proud to win the race to
    be the first operator in the world to rollout MusicStation to our
    subscribers. Telenor has always focused on delivering cutting edge
    services to its subscribers and with MusicStation we can deliver a
    truly next generation music experience, giving our consumers the
    freedom to download an unlimited amount of music, wherever they are,
    for a small weekly fee."

    International MusicStation licensing arrangements announced with
    Universal Music Group, SONY BMG, EMI Music, Warner Music International
    and many major independent labels such as Beggars Group, Vital:PIAS
    Digital and leading global mobile distributor VidZone Digital Media

    Omnifone today announces signed international licensing deals with
    all four major music labels; Universal Music Group, SONY BMG, EMI
    Music and Warner Music International, who are making their
    international and local digital music catalogues available to
    MusicStation users.

    Rob Wells, Senior Vice President, Digital, Universal Music Group
    International, said, "It's hard to imagine a more compelling music
    experience on mobile than MusicStation. It works on almost any phone,
    giving consumers the freedom to choose whatever device they want. It
    allows downloads wherever those consumers are, providing the freedom
    to access music whenever they want. And it gives users unlimited
    access to our and other labels' catalogues, all for a fixed weekly fee
    that includes data. We welcome its rollout today and look forward to
    the other rollouts that are due."

    Matthew Crosswaite, Vice President of Business Development at EMI
    Music said, "We want to make sure that fans can always access music by
    EMI's artists quickly and easily, wherever they happen to be. The
    MusicStation subscription service gives consumers a new way of doing
    that, and we are very pleased to be working with Omnifone to reach
    millions of subscribers around the world through their mobile phone."

    Pete Downton, Vice President, Business Development and Strategic
    Partnerships, Warner Music International, said, "As we monetise our
    content across the myriad of ever-developing ways that people enjoy
    music, mobile technology continues to present us with important
    opportunities. MusicStation's easy-to-use subscription service will
    offer consumers a compelling way to discover and explore our artists'
    music anytime, anywhere. Beginning with its launch in Sweden, this
    service is an exciting, innovative development."

    Omnifone confirms it has also secured a wide selection of
    independent and localised content in many key territories from
    independent labels and distributors including Beggars Group,
    Vital:PIAS Digital and VidZone Digital Media.

    Simon Wheeler, Director of Digital, Beggars Group stated, "We are
    delighted MusicStation sees the importance of securing a vast
    catalogue of local and independent content, to ensure that users have
    the widest possible selection available, at the touch of a button,
    wherever they are."

    "Providing our Vital:PIAS Digital's catalogue of high quality
    independent music, regionalised for each MusicStation rollout, means
    that we can provide millions of mobile users with the tracks they
    want, whatever the genre," said Adrian Pope, Head of Vital:PIAS
    Digital. "MusicStation provides a new and exciting way for consumers
    to legally access, discover and enjoy music."

    Omnifone has partnered with Musiwave to quickly bring MusicStation
    to market and onto music mobiles across the world. "Musiwave is proud
    to collaborate with Omnifone in bringing music to MusicStation mobiles
    world-wide," said Guillaume Decugis, Vice President and General
    Manager, Musiwave. "MusicStation complements our existing music
    services with a differentiated mobile music subscription service that
    works over the air and links with our music platform."

    Omnifone today announces further consumer launches imminent in
    Europe, Asia-Pacific and Africa

    Omnifone confirms further rollouts throughout Europe, Asia-Pacific
    and Africa will be announced in the next few weeks as MusicStation
    devices appear in retail outlets across all three regions.

    Rob Lewis, CEO of Omnifone said, "We expect to be able to offer
    MusicStation to one hundred million phone subscribers this year. We
    believe that by providing consumers with the ultimate music freedom of
    unlimited access to music, wherever a user is, on whatever phone they
    buy, MusicStation is delivering the most compelling consumer
    proposition in digital music today."

    Robin Bloor, international IT analyst with Bloor Research stated,
    after reviewing the MusicStation product, "By focusing on Europe and
    Asia, and the key operators in these territories, Omnifone is staying
    focused on the markets which are expected to be the largest for
    digital music in the next few years."

    *Subscribers will pay a small weekly fee of 2.99 euros (or the
    localised equivalent) to access a comprehensive global catalogue of
    music drawn from all the major record labels and independents, fully
    localised to the local market. The price point in Sweden will be 25SEK
    per week.

    Ends