ORANGE STRIKES PAN-EUROPEAN TRUETONES MUSIC DEAL
25 June 2004, London
Deal allows use of original recording clips whilst protecting artists' rights
Orange customers to access original chart hit clips to use as ringtones
Agreement covers nine Orange territories and over 40m customers
Universal Mobile, the mobile division of Universal Music International, and Orange, one of the world's largest mobile communications companies and part of the France Telecom Group, today announced a Pan-European deal, which will allow Orange customers to access "truetones" via their mobile phones. Truetones are clips of original sound recordings by the original artists which can be used as ringtones.
The initiative - the first international deal between Orange and Universal Music – signals the common goal of both companies to give customers access to music content, whilst also protecting the rights of copyright holders through the deployment of Digital Rights Management (DRM) technology. It heralds further collaborations on new projects and forms an important addition to Orange's existing data and voice services catalogue already available on Orange World.
The countries covered by the truetone agreement include the UK, Portugal, Switzerland, Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, France, Slovakia and Romania. The content will be made available on each country's portal. The first offerings from Orange to customers using Universal Music truetones are expected to begin in July.
Both companies are confident that this agreement heralds the most extensive mobile music choice available to date for customers, and it ensures that Orange customers receive the very latest music offers from Universal Music's globe-spanning roster of recording artists. This includes such current international chartmakers as Keane, Mario Wynans, the Rasmus, Christina Milian, Gabrielle and the Black Eyed Peas.
Cédric Ponsot, CEO of Universal Mobile, commented: "Universal Mobile owns the largest and most exciting catalogue of music, voice and sound in the world, and we must ensure that everyone involved in creating that content - artists, songwriters and producers - are properly rewarded for their efforts."
"Understandably, we are delighted to conclude this truetones agreement, which not only protects our artists' rights but allows Orange's customers access to a range of exciting new products using clips of original songs. Orange's proactive approach to the deployment of DRM technology has encouraged Universal to make these truetones available and will result in many new, exciting mobile entertainment offerings in the future."
Billy Wright, Director of Content Acquisition and Management at Orange, said: "Over the past two years, Orange has been striking deals with some of the biggest household names to deliver exciting, engaging and compelling content to its customers, encouraging usage and driving revenues. This deal with Universal Music allows us to deliver the most compelling content for Orange World users, giving them access to the music of one of the world's largest record companies. Whether they're waiting for a bus, queuing in the supermarket or killing time between meetings, they'll be able to access some of their favourite artists."
Only handsets that provide a secure DRM solution for the delivery of premium music content such as truetones will initially receive the content in order to protect Universal Music artists.
For more information and interview requests, please call the Orange Media Centre on +44 207 984 2000 or +44 7973 201 911
Note to Editors:
Universal Mobile is a division of Universal Music International, the world's leading music company. Universal Mobile is established in 40 countries and produces and distributes personalization services and content for cell phone users, including a diverse range of ringtones, wallpapers, personalised voicemail greetings, MMS*, videos and games to over 60 Mobile Operators in Europe, Asia and Latin America. Universal Mobile offers an integrated service combining innovative content, high performance technology and an international marketing savoir-faire.
*Multimedia Messaging Service
Universal Music International is a division of Universal Music Group, the world's leading music company with wholly owned record operations or licensees in 71 countries. Its businesses also include Universal Music Publishing Group, one of the industry's largest global music publishing operations.
Universal Music Group consists of record labels Decca Record Company, Deutsche Grammophon, DreamWorks Records, Interscope Geffen A&M Records, Island Def Jam Music Group, Lost Highway Records, MCA Nashville, Mercury Nashville, Mercury Records, Philips, Polydor, Universal Music Latino, Universal Motown Records Group and Verve Music Group, as well as a multitude of record labels owned or distributed by its record company subsidiaries around the world. The Universal Music Group owns the most extensive catalogue of music in the industry, which is marketed through two distinct divisions, Universal Music Enterprises (in the U.S.) and Universal Strategic Marketing (outside the U.S.).
Universal Music Group is a unit of Vivendi Universal, a global media and communications company.
Orange
Orange and wirefree are trademarks of Orange PCS. The Orange group is one of the world's largest mobile communications companies, with operations in 19 countries across Europe and beyond. It provides a broad range of personal communications services, including Orange GSM1800 services and other digital cellular telephone services. The Orange brand operates in the UK, France, Switzerland, Romania, Denmark, Slovakia, Luxembourg, Thailand, the Ivory Coast, the Dominican Republic, Cameroon, the Netherlands, Botswana and Madagascar. The Orange group also has controlled operations in Belgium (Mobistar). The Orange group has a joint controlling interest in Egypt (MobiNil) and minority interests in Portugal (Optimus), Austria (One), and Mumbai/India (BPL Mobile). As at the end of March 2004, Orange was the largest mobile operator in both the UK with 13.8 million active customers, and France with 20.4 million registered customers. As at the end of March 2004, Orange controlled companies had over 50 million customers worldwide. Orange, along with TIM, Telefonica and T-Mobile, is a founding member of the FreeMove alliance. Further information about Orange can be found on the Orange website at www.orange.com.
