Damien Saunders

Vodafone has agreed to acquire 100% of ZYB which operates a social networking and online management tool enabling mobile phone users to back-up and share their handsets’ contact and calendar information online.

Source: http://www.vodafone.com/start/media_relations/news/group_press_releases/2007/vodafone_announces5.html

Vodafone has launched its Vodafone Music Manager software for your PC. The new software allows you to browse, buy and play music on your computer. Additionally it will sync or sideload music to your mobile phone.

When you shop, you are buying songs and tracks encoded with Windows DRM, but you are able to copy this to a number of devices and of course burn to CD.

Sideloading is simple -  as the DRM rights object gets sent to your phone when you buy something. Connect your phone to the PC, run the software and select the tracks to copy.

Vodafone Music Manager is currently available in Germany and Italy. You might need to click on the link to Music Manager after confirming you are running windows/internet explorer.

Vodafone today announced it has signed an agreement with Apple to sell the iPhone in ten of its markets around the globe. Later this year, Vodafone customers in Australia, the Czech Republic, Egypt, Greece, Italy, India, Portugal, New Zealand, South Africa and Turkey will be able to purchase the iPhone for use on the Vodafone network.

Comment: Shows how far technology has come to enable Vodafone users in 14 countries to watch Madonna perform fron New York on their mobile or PC

FROM NEW YORK’S ROSELAND BALLROOM ON 30 APRIL 2008

• Show to be broadcast live on 30 April 2008 from Roseland Ballroom in New York City on Vodafone live! and from www.vodafone.com/music
• Social networking technology will allow customers to chat to other online show goers and change camera angles to capture the atmosphere, excitement and vibe of this unique event
• Vodafone customers will have an opportunity to win tickets to the event and become one of the lucky few to see Madonna perform in person

This has many implications - first is drive awareness of Vodafone Music as not just a ringtones shop and could now help internet usage. This will showcase state of the art technology with a simulcast live on PC and mobile.

The show will also be replayed on mobile for up to 2 weeks and users can join a replay on their PC at specific times and chat to others watching the show.

Vodafone’s brand appeal grew 75% in the last year to number 1 UK brand in the Financial Times annual brandz listing on Monday.

Vodafone moved to position 11 in the global brands list up from 22 and was number 2 in Europe and in the Mobile sector.

source details see http://www.ft.com/reports/globalbrands2008.

The British Phonographic Industry, which represents the British recorded-music business, said total music download sales for the year topped 77 million, a 50 percent increase over 2006.

2.94m online music tracks were downloaded in the UK in the last week of 2007, according to the BPI, a record industry body. The figure is double that for the same time in 2006, when 1.47m tracks were downloaded, and nearly three times that for the same week in 2005, when only 1m songs were downloaded.

Source: http://www.strategyeye.com

My role as music product manager in a global organisation does allow for some time out .. today is the first official day back in the office … so happy new year.

A few interesting stories that I will certainly be watching

• Warner and Amazon announced DRM Free for their USA store  - I wonder how long before Amazon launches in the UK
• Fox announces video content on Itunes - but its still DRM’d
• Billboard says 2008 will be the year we get digital album artwork as part of our online purchases - great news!

Nokia Corp. said it joined forces with Universal Music to offer unlimited music downloads for a year on phones bundled with its Ovi Web services platform.

Universal Music Group expects its deal to offer free music for 12 months on new Nokia phones to have a wider, “stimulating” effect on the digital music business next year, a senior official said on Tuesday.

The world’s largest music group Universal and the world’s top cellphone vendor Nokia said on Tuesday they would offer a free 12-month access to Universal’s music for buyers of Nokia music phones starting from the second half of 2008.

“I believe the announcement will act as a catalyst for a whole number of business partners to step forward. It’s definitely going to stimulate the business next year,” Rob Wells, Senior Vice President for digital operations at Universal, told Reuters. Universal is owned by French media group Vivendi.

The “Comes With Music” offering would differ from any other package on the market as users can keep all the music they have downloaded for free during the 12 months, the firms said.

sources: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119676374309413001.html?mod=googlenews_wsj  and Reuters

O2 sent an email to stores an hour after the launch, claiming that 2,000 customers who bought iPhones from O2 stores had registered their devices at 7:02pm. That figure soared to 8,000 by the end of the night.

Sales vary considerably from store to store, with anecdotes of disinterest from some, disbelief at the price tag from others and customers queuing in the snow at O2’s Aberdeen store.

Source: http://www.mobiletoday.co.uk/content/17234.asp?men=2&sub=1

Most O2 and Carphone stores said they sold ’solid numbers’ of iPhones – tens rather than hundreds.

Microsoft is closing its acquisition of Musiwave, the French mobile music company, for USD46m in cash and USD4m in debt. The price is less than half what Musiwave’s California-based owner Openwave paid when it bought the firm for USD117m in Jan 2006.

The deal is important for Microsoft as it gives it a foot in the door for mobile content delivery to consumers … as well Musiwave still works with a lot of the leading mobile operators.

http://www.strategyeye.com/2007/11/16/microsoft_completes_musiwave_deal_for_usd50m/