Vodafone Group plc customers in some European markets have access to full-length songs from four major music labels through a deal announced Tuesday.
French digital music company Musiwave said it has secured mobile rights to full-length songs from EMI-Virgin, Sony, BMG and Warner. Currently, Vodafone’s service is available in France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Portugal, Sweden and the United Kingdom, and other Vodafone markets are expected to be added in coming months.
Musiwave unveiled what it called the “first major mobile music library,” which currently includes 150,000 downloadable titles. The portfolio will expand to 500,000 tracks by June and 1 million by the end of next year, the company said.
Carriers can opt to offer the entire library or only selected songs to their subscribers.
Musiwave, which distributes music content in 18 countries through more than 30 mobile operators and handset manufacturers, said it plans to enter the U.S. market next year.
“The U.S. market is a bit late compared to the European one,” said Gilles Babinet, Musiwave’s founder and chairman of the board. “We see the U.S. as a basic place we have to be … There are a lot of players over there, and we’ve had very good talks with most of the telecoms.”
