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Gracenote and Omnifone Team Up to Move Unlimited Music Across Your Devices Without Skipping A Beat

Posted on: Thursday, 8 January 2009, 08:00 CST

LAS VEGAS, CONSUMER ELECTRONICS SHOW (CES), Jan. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Heralding a new phase in unifying the consumer digital media experience, Gracenote(R) and Omnifone(R) today announced the first solution to provide easy integration of a consumer's personal music collection with an unlimited music subscription service and seamless synchronization of both across a consumer's personal devices -- from mobile phones to desktop PCs, to home entertainment systems and in-car stereos. A demonstration at the 2009 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas will show music fans how they can synchronize their existing music library with Omnifone's award winning unlimited music service of over five million tracks using embedded Gracenote technology. The service works across multiple entertainment platforms instantly and effortlessly while optimizing the quality of the content without the worry about file formats or interoperability.

The combined technologies of Gracenote and Omnifone provide consumers with a personalized, holistic music experience delivering immediate and unlimited access to millions of music tracks, and the freedom to download, make playlists, get recommendations, play music wherever they are, whenever they want, on any device they choose. For example, users can create a comprehensive U2 playlist at home on their PC using a combination of their own collection and the unlimited music service, and start playing it in their living room. Then, get in their car, and have it pick up where they left off. Later, when they are at a club, they can search for music they are looking for, then download it and have it synched to all of their devices, and get recommendations for other music they might like based on genre or user generated recommendations. On each device, the most appropriate file format and user interface is presented to ensure the best possible user experience for that environment.

Synchronization of personal and service content with a unified consumer experience across all platforms is paramount to achieving the dramatic growth analysts project for music consumption over the next three years. Forrester's December 2008 Jupiter Research forecast says U.S. digital music sales will grow by 17 percent per year on average over the next five years to make up 41 percent of sales by 2013, while Juniper Research predicts the success of unlimited music services on mobile platforms will significantly grow digital music revenues, with subscription-based unlimited digital music services overtaking "first generation" pay-per-track services and worth U.S. $3.3 billion by 2012.

"We understand that consumers want access to all music content, as well as a consistent digital media experience no matter where they are -- on the go, at home, or in the car. What we are demonstrating is a next-generation music solution to the industry that addresses this consumer demand," said Jim Hollingsworth, senior vice president of sales and marketing for Gracenote. "This is an example of the future digital entertainment experience, and exemplifies the direction that commerce, content and technology companies should be headed."

"Omnifone's partnership with Gracenote will make connected unlimited music services a reality in the living room, in the car, on mobile devices, and computers; everywhere we go our music collections, playlists, and recommendations will follow seamlessly, automatically and without wires. Historically, unlimited music service providers have focused on mobile and PC platforms, but consumers want access to music in the living room and the car, as much as the mobile and desktop computer," said Rob Lewis, CEO of Omnifone. "This announcement means music lovers will soon have the freedom to access and consume unlimited music legally, across a wide range of device platforms, with the most appropriate user interface and file format for each device, synchronized automatically rather than having to side-load, back-up or rip compact discs."

Gracenote and Omnifone at CES

Gracenote and Omnifone are giving live demonstrations at CES in the Gracenote booth in South Hall 3, Booth 30333. To schedule a meeting with Gracenote or Omnifone at CES, please contact Veronica Skelton at 415-342-3435 or veronica@conceptpr.net. For more information on Gracenote's host of digital music and video services for the entertainment, mobile, automotive, and consumer electronics industries, please visit http://www.gracenote.com, or contact us directly at GracenoteLicensing@gracenote.com.

About Gracenote

Gracenote, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, is a global leader in embedded technology, enriched content, and data services for digital entertainment solutions within the Internet, consumer electronics, mobile, and automotive markets. Formerly known as CDDB(R), Gracenote delivers a substantially improved consumer experience in digital media devices and applications, plus media monitoring and other data services to the recording industry, making it an integral part of the digital media economy. Gracenote powers leading services including Apple iTunes, Yahoo! Music Jukebox, Winamp; home and automotive products from Alpine, Panasonic, Philips and Sony; and mobile music applications from Samsung, Sony Ericsson, KDDI (Japan), KTF (Korea), Musiwave (Europe), and others. Gracenote is headquartered in Emeryville, California. http://www.gracenote.com/corporate.

About Omnifone

Omnifone the world's leading independent provider of unlimited music download services for device vendors and mobile carriers including the likes of Sony Ericsson, LG, Vodafone, Telenor and Hutchison Telecom, who are rolling out Omnifone's multi-award winning unlimited music download services globally. Omnifone's MusicStation(TM) unlimited music download service is live today across three continents and it powers Sony Ericsson's PlayNow(TM) plus which is rolling out across Walkman mobiles globally in 2009. In 2007 Omnifone won the Mobile Entertainment Forum (MEF) Music Service Award, Red Herring Global 100 Award, and in 2008, the Juniper Research Future Mobile Award's Gold Award for Mobile Music, Best Mobile Internet Service at the Mobile Industry Awards, and the most prestigious award in mobile music; Best Mobile Music Service Award at the GSMA Global Mobile Awards, part of Mobile World Congress 2008. The company is based at Island Studios, London with regional HQs in Asia Pacific. http://www.omnifone.com

Gracenote, MusicID and CDDB are registered trademarks of Gracenote, Inc. All other names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective owners. Omnifone is a registered trademark of Omnifone Limited.

SOURCE Gracenote; Omnifone

Source: PR Newswire

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