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15th June 2005 - Ericsson, one of world's leading telecommunications
supplier and Napster, one of the biggest brand in digital
music, announced today a global partnership to offer
the first complete, fully integrated digital music service
available for mobile operators.
The service will carry the universally known Napster
brand and combine elements of Napster's popular PC offering
and Ericsson's personalized music service, currently
utilized by more mobile operators than any other in
the world.
The Napster and Ericsson business model accommodates
mobile operator participation in all revenue streams.
The service is scheduled to go live in Europe during
the next 12 months and will initially be offered to
operators in selected markets in Europe, Asia, Latin
America, and North America.
Chris Gorog, Napster's Chairman and CEO says: "Ericsson's
world-leading wireless and telecommunications solutions
experience, along with their exceptional client base,
make them the ideal partner to deepen Napster's presence
in the global mobile arena".
"Ericsson and Napster are uniquely suited to offer
mobile operators a simple, cohesive and personalized
digital music experience for their consumers," he adds.
The new service will support coordinated wireless and
PC downloading of digital music in both subscription
and a la carte models, and phone-based initiation will
ensure convenient and easy music library access for
both mobile and PC usage.
The service scales to current handset models and networks
but can also accommodate next-generation technology
for newer handsets on higher-speed networks and is designed
to work on mobile phones from all major manufacturers
that support content protected by digital rights management.
The flexible platform delivers a complete digital music
solution under one brand via a consistent user interface
and with billing consolidated by mobile operators.
Carl-Henric Svanberg, President and CEO of Ericsson,
agrees with Gorog's statement: "With Napster we are
uniquely positioned to deliver the easy to use, complete
suite of music offerings our customers are asking for".
"We gain access to the biggest digital music brand
in the world and exposure to the largest music catalog
available, which will not only increase our customer's
consumer offerings and revenues but substantially strengthen
their own brand image as well," he says.
Napster's brand, catalog, label relationships, programming,
PC and portable offerings will be combined with Ericsson's
operator relationships, wireless development, integration,
hosting, deployment and support and IPX charging system.
The service will allow mobile operators to seize growth
opportunities for personalized digital entertainment
on the mobile phone and PC and will also encompass ring
tones, master tones, images, wallpaper and video content.
About Napster
Napster, the biggest brand in digital music, is a subscription
service that enables fans to freely sample the world's
largest and most diverse online collection of music
and move an unlimited amount of songs to compatible
MP3 players. Napster (www.napster.com) members have
access to songs from all major labels and hundreds of
independents and have more ways to discover, share and
acquire new music and old favorites with community features
like the ability to email tracks to friends and browse
other members' collections. Napster also offers Napster
Light, a "lighter" version of the service for those
who just want to purchase songs and albums a la carte.
Napster is currently available in the United States,
Canada and the U.K. and is headquartered in Los Angeles
with sales offices in New York, London and Frankfurt.
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