LONDON -(Dow Jones)- EMI Group says it is working with Deutsche Telekom unit T-Mobile, and Rhythm NewMedia on an advertising-supported mobile music video service.
London-based EMI is joining a service being trialed by T-Mobile which will allow UK mobile-phone users to watch entertainment, news and music clips from their mobiles.
The trial comes as music companies show an increasing interest in using advertising to fund delivery of their content over both the Internet and mobile phones.
The service will be operated by California-based Rhythm NewMedia, which will provide video content to users on condition that they watch a preceding advertising clip.
Customers will use an electronic program guide to select a range of video content including news, entertainment and music.
Vodafone earlier this year trialed a similar service with Rhythm NewMedia.
EMI said in a statement Monday that advertisements would be "specifically targeted" for the artist being selected by the consumer. EMI's largest artists include Coldplay, Gorillaz and Robbie Williams.
Advertising-supported mobile content is one of a range of business models being trialed as a way of paying for online content.
Trialing advertising as a way to fund content for mobile phones comes shortly after EMI and larger record company Universal Music Group, owned by France's Vivendi, agreed to make some of their music catalogues available to advertiser-funded Internet company Spiral Frog.
Rhythm NewMedia has signed up a number of companies, including Microsoft, Coca Cola and Unilever Group to advertise with the T-Mobile service.
Company Web site: http://www.emigroup.com
-By Jessica Hodgson, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 207 842 9293 jessica.hodgson@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires"
Posted to the site on 11th September 2006
Posted to: www.cellular-news.com/story/19263.php