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Universal Music Group (UMG) Partners With PlayPhone

Posted on: Wednesday, 22 October 2008, 09:00 CDT

Universal Music Group (UMG), the world's leading music company, and PlayPhone, Inc. (www.playphone.com), the global mobile media company, today announced an agreement to offer real music tones from UMG's market-leading roster of superstar artists through a number of PlayPhone's mobile entertainment destinations, including Wal-Mart, Best Buy and BET.

"We are delighted to be partnering with PlayPhone," stated Rio Caraeff, Executive Vice President of UMG's eLabs. "Their commitment to expanding the mobile space, along with our vast catalog of chart-topping artists, creates a great opportunity to innovate and deliver new ways for consumers to explore and enjoy our content."

"PlayPhone has built the best branded catalog for mobile entertainment and is pleased to now make available real music tones from UMG's A-list artists to mobile consumers," said Ron Czerny, founder and chief executive officer at PlayPhone. "As mobile consumers continue to make the jump from the last of the polyphonic handsets to more-capable rich media devices, it is important that we round out our catalog to make sure they have access to the best selection available."

PlayPhone gives consumers access to a new and exclusive media catalog spanning audio, video and gaming content from all four major music labels and their artists, game publishers and media companies such as SONY BMG, EMI, Disney, Vivendi , and Sony Pictures Entertainment. In addition to operating its consumer-facing mobile destination at PlayPhone.com, PlayPhone powers mobile content destinations and promotional offerings for entertainment and retail brands including Wal-Mart, ABC Television, Sony Pictures, SonyBMG, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Sega, Real Networks, iPlay and many more.

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 leading global music publishing operation.

Universal Music Group's record labels include Decca, Deutsche Grammophon, Disa, Emarcy, Fonovisa, Interscope Geffen A&M Records, Island Def Jam Music Group, Lost Highway Records, Machete Music, MCA Nashville, Mercury Nashville, Mercury Records, Philips, Polydor Records, Universal Motown Republic Group, Universal Music Latino, Universal Records South, 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 includes the last 100 years of the world's most popular artists and their recordings. UMG's catalog 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, its new media and technologies division; Bravado, its merchandising company; Twenty-First Artists, its full service management division; and Helter Skelter, its live music agency.

Universal Music Group is a unit of Vivendi, a global media and communications company.

About PlayPhone, Inc.

PlayPhone (www.playphone.com) is a leading global mobile media company present in over 25 countries throughout North America, Europe, Asia and Latin America that provides cutting edge personalization and entertainment content in English and Spanish to mobile consumers anytime, anywhere. PlayPhone founded the direct-to-consumer mobile media distribution standard in 2003 and continues to establish new means for delivering wireless entertainment. PlayPhone is based in San Jose, Calif. and is funded by top venture firms Menlo Ventures, Cardinal Venture Capital and Scale Venture Partners.

 Media Contact:  Maria Ho-Burge Universal Music Group 212.331.2569 Email Contact  Hugo Reyes PlayPhone, Inc. 408.261.6200 ext.274 Email Contact

SOURCE: PlayPhone, Inc.

Source: MARKET WIRE

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