Vodafone and Universal agree track deal

A deal struck between music company, Universal Music Group and mobile telecommunications company, Vodafone, will offer video and music tracks to download.

A broad range of products and services will be introducd that include music videos, music tracks, and tones from Eminem, U2, Black Eyed Peas, Kaiser Chiefs, 50 Cent, Keane, Rammstein, and Scissor Sisters.

Guy Laurence, Global Terminal and Consumer Marketing Director at Vodafone, said: "Universal Music is the world's largest music company and this strategic union significantly enhances the scope of our mobile music offering. As adoption of music content continues to increase, we know that our consumers are going to enjoy the benefit of being able to tap into such an incredible catalogue."

Content from this deal is available on the Vodafone live! service, and it is expected that over 100,000 full-track audio downloads will be available within a matter of weeks, boosting the overall catalogue to over 600,000 tracks.

Lucian Grainge, Chairman/CEO of Universal Music Group International, commented: "This agreement sets new standards in scale, reach and imagination within our respective industries. Both companies are committed as never before to provide new entertainment services for the benefit of consumers, using 3G to harness the power and potential of new technology. I could not be more excited at the prospect."

As with all content agreements, Vodafone will deploy Digital Rights Management to ensure the full protection of the content and the rights of the artists signed to UMG companies around the world.

(SP/KMcA)