Wednesday, September 13, 2006

Digital Entertainment To Mobile Devices Gains Momentum

Universal & MTV Forge Cell Pact
September 12, 2006, www.fmqb.com

Universal Music Group and MTV are expected to announce today a new deal that would give MTV Networks a blanket license to Universal's songs, videos and other content for mobile devices. Though the public's appetite for digital entertainment on cell phones has been a bit tepid, MTV and Universal hope to overcome that obstacle by creating exclusive content solely for cell phones, according to the Los Angeles Times."To build an appetite for mobile content, there have to be video clips and shows and songs that you can only get on your phone," Rio Caraeff, a digital executive with Universal, told the Times. "We want to spur the creation of those clips by making our entire catalog available to MTV. The industry has to push our products in front of people, instead of waiting for them to ask."Caraeff said that Universal Music would complete similar blanket licenses with other cellular providers as well. Other sources told the Times that in the deal, Universal Music will receive payment each time one of its songs or videos is used in MTV's mobile programming...READ MORE: HERE