LONDON—Groove Mobile is hoping to take its wireless, full-track download service directly to European consumers.
The mobile music technology developer said it will step up marketing and business development efforts in England, tapping Jason Binks as its new director of off-portal marketing. Binks’ resume includes stints at Buongiorno Vitaminic, which has gained substantial traction as an off-deck content aggregator, and Hyperlaunch New Media.
“Our expansion is attracting top talent like Jason who are eager to build on the increasing demand for mobile music from millions of music fans who demand … innovative services and features when downloading music direct to their mobile phones,” said Adam Sexton, Grove’s chief marketing officer.
Groove has made impressive strides in Europe and North America with its white-label mobile music service. The company powers full-track offerings for Sprint Nextel Corp., Bell Mobility and Orange.
Monstermob Group L.L.C. and VeriSign Inc.’s Jamba each launched modest off-deck, full-track mobile services in Europe recently. Other players are expected to join the field as well, including Nokia Corp., which last month completed its acquisition of Loudeye Corp.
But while European consumers have long been accustomed to strolling off carrier decks to buy ringtones and other mobile content, the viability of the direct-to-consumer, full-track music download space is far from clear. Profit margins for digital music are notoriously thin, and users are likely to incur substantial data charges for over-the-air downloads of entire songs.
