Chrysalis Mobile has partnered with hit40uk to enable delivery of mobile music content and interactive services into its 3.6 million weekly audience
Chrysalis Mobile, a division of Chrysalis Group plc, today announced that it has signed hit40uk, the UK?s largest chart show, as a flagship radio partner for its mobile music delivery services.
The agreement will allow hit40uk to extend the relationship with its audience through meeting demand for immediate access to chart music content on mobile devices. Hit40uk is syndicated across 113 UK radio stations and achieves a weekly audience of 3.6 million 4+ listeners for its Sunday top 40 chart show and 2 Midweek Chart features. This audience base is predominantly youth focused with a high level of mobile usage and demand for fast access to content related to popular music artists.
Rob Corlett, Managing Director of hit40uk Limited, said ?Mobile interaction is already a very significant element of our weekly show. The ability to offer listeners the chance to request and download music onto their mobile devices in response to airplay is a natural extension and is set to become an increasing feature of the radio landscape. In partnership with Chrysalis Mobile, we now have a comprehensive content sourcing and distribution service that will allow us to easily manage the mobile delivery of the latest chart music ? in ring tone format initially and in full song format over time.?
In June, hit40uk will initially promote an ?opt-in? service allowing listeners to receive a choice of polyphonic or monophonic ring tones each week related to the top chart songs. Chrysalis Mobile and hit40uk are also developing more advanced services (including ad hoc back-catalogue requests for specific content) that will be introduced later in 2004.
Chrysalis Mobile is also providing hit40uk access to systems allowing the show to directly manage all inbound and outbound mobile interaction with its audience from a single, centralised database. These systems have been developed over the past 18 months and optimised specifically for radio audiences and DJ schedules.
The market for mobile ring tones alone was estimated at $1.1 billion in Western Europe in 2003. However, this content market is now at an inflection point as demand shifts from existing monophonic and polyphonic ringtones towards ?real tones? ? actual elements of songs that require master rights access, a core area of expertise for Chrysalis.
Through Chrysalis Mobile, hit40uk will be able to deliver a range of content, including:
? Ring Tones ? Monophonic and Polyphonic
? Real Tones ? Mobile edits of actual songs
? Images and Other Artist Content
Chrysalis Mobile will additionally enable full song download to mobile devices over air as delivery technology and device penetration allow.
Chrysalis Mobile acts as a service provider to a range of media and retail partners as well as radio companies such as hit40uk. Chrysalis Mobile manages the creation and sourcing of content, artist promotions, rights management as well as the hosting and mobile delivery services (whether requested directly via mobile or via the Internet). Chrysalis Mobile is closely working with the record industry around delivery of master content as the mobile networks and device capabilities evolve.
Given Chrysalis?s unique heritage in music publishing and recording as well as its national radio reach, Chrysalis Mobile is now well placed to create valuable services that can help partners such as hit40uk to capitalise rapidly on the mobile market opportunity.
The hit40uk agreement follows the successful launch of Chrysalis Mobile services on the national Galaxy radio network and will be followed by several further retail and radio partner announcements in the coming months.
Posted on Monday, April 26th, 2004 at 12:09 pm by RadioToday UK