Europe : Groove Mobile announced today that Universal Music Group (UMG), the world’s leading music company and 3 UK will join Vodafone UK in its industry leading direct to consumer off-portal data service. As part of the service, 3 UK consumers have access to both UMG and Sony BMG’s catalogues of music on portal and off portal. The direct to consumer offering allows users to easily access full track music downloads Over-the-Air (OTA) via SMS short codes without the fear of incurring additional high data charges.

"With off-portal data services continuing to gain traction in the UK, we are excited to open our service to include UMG, expanding our library of music to provide even greater entertainment choices for consumers," said Adam Sexton, Chief Marketing Officer of Groove Mobile. "With the addition of 3 UK customers we will make the service available to an even larger audience, allowing them to access music tracks from their favorite artists by simply sending a text message."

The costs incurred by record labels to distribute their artists’ music on the mobile platform have been a barrier to adoption of direct to consumer initiatives in the past. Groove Mobile has worked with Vodafone and 3 UK to simplify the payment process and data charges for off portal content, thus controlling the costs passed on to consumers. Sony BMG and now UMG will have the power to reach out to mobile users directly, giving them immediate access to new music with Groove Mobile’s text trigger services.

"As we continue to seek out new ways to reach consumers directly, this initiative with Groove Mobile is a perfect complement to our growing digital portfolio," said Rob Wells, senior vice president-Digital, Universal Music Group International. "Mobile subscribers will have access to WAP stores from popular and emerging artists including Amy Winehouse, Kanye West, Timbaland, Mika, Mr. Hudson, Kaiser Chiefs and Pharoahe Monch and can download music seamlessly and on the go."

Groove Mobile is uniquely positioned to leverage its expertise and relationships in the music industry to help carriers navigate the mobile music space. With worldwide agreements with leading independent artists, labels and digital distributors, Groove Mobile is leading the evolution of the global mobile music market by developing the mobile phone into the music player of choice.

"We understand the needs of today’s consumer and the plethora of content available to them both on and off-deck," said Rory Maguire, 3 UK’s Head of Third Party Services. "Our goal is to provide users with the most convenient and cost-effective options to access great media services on their mobile devices."

About Groove Mobile

Groove Mobile is the world's leading mobile music service. Groove Mobile's Complete Music Gateway includes Full Track Mobile Downloads, Peer-to-Peer Sharing and Personalized Music Recommendations, in addition to providing Personalized and Programmed Streaming Radio, Music Subscriptions, and more. Groove Mobile powers 3UK, the UK’s top rated mobile music service and the Sprint Music Store, the first over-the-air song-download service in the U.S. Groove Mobile launched the world's first secure peer-to-peer distribution in the mobile space, with its pioneering Tell-a-Friend feature. Groove Mobile's direct download service is available in the US, Canada, the UK, Europe, and Australasia and provides access to music from all the major labels and the top independent labels and distributors.

About Universal Music Group

Universal Music Group is the world's leading music company with wholly owned record operations or licensees in 77 countries. Its businesses also include Universal Music Publishing Group, the industry's largest global music publishing operation.

Universal Music Group consists of record labels Decca Music Group, Deutsche Gramophone, Interscope Geffen A&M Records, Geffen Records, Island Def Jam Music Group, Lost Highway Records, MCA Nashville, Mercury Nashville, Mercury Records, Philips, Polydor Records, Universal Music Latino, Universal Motown Records Group, Universal South Records 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 catalog 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 also includes eLabs, a new media and technologies division, and Universal Music Mobile.