RealNetworks eyes Canada for mobile music expansion
RealNetworks Inc. is diving deeper into the international market for digital music that can be downloaded to cell phones and other handheld devices.
Through its WiderThan subsidiary, RealNetworks, No. 92 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide, has launched a full-function music-on-demand service for Rogers Wireless Inc. With the launch of Rogers MusicStore, Rogers, Canada’s largest wireless voice and data communications services provider, becomes the first Canadian wireless service provider to offer their customers both a pay-per-download and a subscription service option for mobile handsets and PCs, says RealNetworks.
With the Rogers MusicStore, Rogers’ subscribers can instantly download full music tracks over-the-air and over-the-Internet and transfer digital music between their mobile devices and PCs. Using WiderThan’s mobile music service platform, Rogers also is offering a music portal called Redpipe.
Redpipe enables customers and music artists to upload and share their music and videos instantly, both over the mobile network and the Internet. Acquired content can be played on Rogers’ supported phones, PCs and all Microsoft “Plays For Sure” mobile devices, the company says.
WiderThan’s platform will support content life cycle management including license management, content/service creation to service delivery, content downloading and streaming, and feedback analysis. “Our services and solutions are specifically designed and custom-tailored to help communications service providers drive and grow the popular mobile music market,” says WiderThan Americas CEO Vern Poyner.
WiderThan provides services to more than 60 communications service providers in more than 30 countries, including SK Telecom in Korea, Cingular Wireless, Sprint Nextel, T-Mobile USA, and Verizon Wireless in the United States, Bharti Airtel in India and Globe Telecom in the Philippines.
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