Gracenote(R), a global leader in technology and services that are
an integral part of the digital media economy, today announced its
European Content Partner Program, providing automated marketing and
distribution opportunities for content owners across the region. The
Content Partner Program is designed to help European record labels,
content aggregators, and individual performers build awareness,
capture consumer interest and drive sales for their digital media in
entirely new ways.
Recognized as the industry standard for music recognition
services, Gracenote licenses its technology to thousands of developers
of consumer electronics devices and online media players around the
world. Its services are available in the industry's most popular media
players, home stereos, MP3 players, car stereos, and mobile phones.
Gracenote is now making it easier for European artists and labels to
submit, edit and manage information about their artists, and reach
millions of consumers through these digital media devices and
applications.
As a member of the Gracenote Content Partner Program a record
label, for example, can provide Gracenote with complete and accurate
metadata and audio fingerprints for its new music releases.
Gracenote's technology, through its extensive customer base, extends
the reach of this new music making it available for marketing and
digital commerce links to its more than 200 million end users. The
company also uses the music data to power its innovative music
recommendation engine, Gracenote Discover(TM), helping introduce new
artists and music to consumers based on the musical styles, attributes
and community preferences. Gracenote's Discover music recommendation
engine will be used by leading online and mobile music services
worldwide.
By directly providing Gracenote with new music information,
content partners can also drive promotion for artists on mobile
phones. Through Gracenote's Mobile MusicID(TM) service, mobile
carriers and handset manufacturers can allow consumers to identify and
discover songs as they hear them, and then allow consumers to purchase
the music directly via the mobile device. The Mobile MusicID
application is an effective way to extend commerce opportunities by
reaching consumers wherever they are.
"Gracenote's Content Partner Program provides a unique opportunity
for independent record labels and artists by giving them the same
access to our worldwide consumer base as the major record labels
receive," said Ross Blanchard, vice president of business development
for Gracenote. "The program also allows labels to take control of how
their artists and songs are represented to music fans, and ensures
that their new releases are available in our music recommendation and
discovery engines around the world."
World's Largest Global Media Database
Gracenote's Global Media Database is the largest in the world,
with digital media data from more than 200 countries and territories
and accessed by more than 200 million people annually. As the Global
Media Database grows exponentially with new content, more than 30
percent of Gracenote's end-user album submissions are from European
consumers, and 27 percent of Gracenote's end-user connections from
across the continent.
"Gracenote's music services are powering search and discovery for
highly recognized digital music sources on the Web," said IODA founder
and CEO Kevin Arnold. "Being a part of their Content Partner Program
allows us to ensure that music fans can find IODA-distributed artists
and their music when they need it -- from iTunes to KDDI's Lismo
service -- and this helps us build awareness, capture consumer
interest and drive sales in new ways."
For more information about Gracenote's Content Partner Program
please go to www.gracenote.com/contentpartner/.
About Gracenote
Gracenote is a global leader in embedded technology, enriched
content, and data services for digital entertainment solutions within
the Internet, consumer electronics, mobile, and automotive markets.
Formerly known as CDDB(R), Gracenote delivers a substantially improved
consumer experience in digital media devices and applications, plus
media monitoring and other data services to the recording industry,
making it an integral part of the digital media economy. Gracenote
powers leading services including Apple iTunes, Yahoo! Music Jukebox,
AOL Winamp; home and automotive products from Alpine, Panasonic,
Philips and Sony; and mobile music applications from Samsung, Sony
Ericsson, KDDI (Japan), KTF (Korea), Musiwave (Europe), and others.
Headquartered in Emeryville, California, Gracenote has offices in New
York, Tokyo, Berlin and Seoul. For more information about Gracenote,
please refer to www.gracenote.com/corporate/.
Gracenote and CDDB are registered trademarks of Gracenote, Inc.
