Omnifone Signs Germany's First Global Music Subscription Licensing with GEMA
By Omnifone Limited, PRNESaturday, January 22, 2011
MIDEM, CANNES, France, January 23, 2011 -
- Omnifone's commercial team negotiates landmark music licensing deal with GEMA opening up German market to legitimate subscription based digital music services - German subscription licensing rates brought into line with rest of European market - GEMA awards Omnifone first global subscription licensing for Sony's cloud-based music services "Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity" which launches in Germany this weekend - GEMA enables the first legitimate royalties revenue stream for Germany's music publishers and composers from subscription based digital music services
Omnifone, the leading independent provider of cloud based
unlimited music services globally, today announces a landmark deal with
German collection society GEMA to license the first legitimate global
subscription service in Germany. Omnifone and GEMA agreed licensing for
Sony's cloud based music service "Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity" which
launches in Germany this weekend on Sony's range of network connected
BRAVIA(R) TVs, Blu-ray Disc(TM) players, Blu-ray Disc Home Theater systems,
PlayStation(R)3 computer entertainment systems as well as VAIO and other
personal computers.
Through its negotiations for Sony's cloud based digital music
service "Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity", Omnifone worked with GEMA, the
authors' association for works of music, to establish a new licensing
agreement for unlimited music services.
"This landmark deal negotiated with GEMA for Sony by Omnifone
brings the cost of subscription based music licensing in Germany into line
with the rest of Europe for the first time," said Jeff Hughes, CEO of
Omnifone. "Omnifone's experienced commercial team enables partners to roll
out cloud based music services globally, opening up new markets through
innovative licensing agreements around the world."
"We are very pleased about the successful agreement with
Omnifone. The signing of the contract illustrates that it is possible after
all to license innovative business models in the field of online," said
chairman of the Executive Board of GEMA, Dr. Harald Heker.
"Omnifone's groundbreaking license agreement with GEMA enables
Sony to roll out the first fully-licensed, cloud-based, unlimited music
service in Germany that delivers a great consumer experience and ensures
German publishers and composers are fairly compensated for the music accessed
by subscribers," said Tim Schaaff, President of Sony Network Entertainment.
Omnifone and GEMA's agreement will enable the introduction of
further globally competitive subscription based music services into the
German market, providing consumers with legitimate subscription based music
services and generating new revenue streams for German rights holders.
About Omnifone
Omnifone is the world's leading independent provider of
cloud-based unlimited music services for consumer electronics vendors, ISPs,
automotive and mobile companies including the likes of Sony, HP, Sony
Ericsson, Vodafone, Hutchison who are rolling out Omnifone's multi-award
winning unlimited music services globally.
MusicStation(R), Omnifone's multi-award winning cloud based
unlimited music platform is utilised by partners in 21 countries worldwide,
enabling legitimate unlimited music access direct-to-device across a wide
range of in-home, in-car, mobile and PC device platforms, tailored
specifically to partner requirements.
At CES 2009 Omnifone announced a partnership with Gracenote
Inc., winning a 'Best of CES' award for an in-car entertainment system with
MusicStation unlimited music service. In 2008 Omnifone won Best Mobile Music
Service at the GSMA Global Mobile Awards, Best Mobile Internet Service at the
Mobile Industry Awards, the Juniper Research Future Mobile Award's Gold Award
for Mobile Music, the Red Herring Global 100 Award and in 2007 the Mobile
Entertainment Forum (MEF) Music Service Meffy. The company is based at Island
Studios, London with regional HQs in Asia Pacific. www.omnifone.com
About GEMA
GEMA represents in Germany the copyrights of more than 64,000
members (composers, lyricists, and music publishers), as well as over two
million copyright holders all over the world. It is one of the largest
societies of authors for works of music worldwide. www.gema.de
Further information Tim Hadley Omnifone +447976410001 thadley@omnifone.com Isabel Palmtag GEMA Press officer and director online projects +49-89-48003-429 +49-172-858-60-23 ipalmtag@gema.de
Tim Hadley, Omnifone, +447976410001, thadley at omnifone.com;
Isabel Palmtag, GEMA, Press officer and director online projects,
+49-89-48003-429, +49-172-858-60-23, ipalmtag at gema.de
Tags: Cannes, France, Germany, January 23, Midem, Omnifone Limited