Universal Music Group, the largest music label in the world (and home to Kanye West, Sam Smith, Nicki Minaj, U2 and thousands of other artists), is diving into the mobile music streaming market. However, while you may see the massive label’s new app on your smartphone sometime soon, you may not know where it came from.
Revealed last week at the Mobile World Congress trade show in Barcelona, the new subscription service called Mondia Mix is a “white label service,” which means that, while the product is produced by Universal and digital entertainment service Mondia Media, it was made to be rebranded by individual cell phone operators across the globe.
According to the official release, “Mondia Mix is targeted at mobile operators wanting to launch an entry level, high quality music streaming application.” The new service will reportedly allow users to stream playlists and select tracks for offline usage “whilst keeping music rights holders protected and minimizing data costs.”
Universal is hoping to convince mobile operators who use GSM networks, like AT&T and T-Mobile in the US, to include the new service among their wares. The app is designed to work with iOS and Android devices, and was created in collaboration with Mondia Media and worldwide mobile phone operator association, GSMA.
The app has no set subscription price, instead allowing mobile phone operators to select a price point. Each individual mobile phone operator will be able to manage content and editorial choices through a dedicated Content Management System (CMS).
So if you come across a strange new music streaming app available on your AT&T or T-Mobile phone, it might just be a customized version of Mondia Mix. While it may be a limiting mobile music streaming app, as it presumably only carries Universal’s music library, it’s certainly a good marketing strategy for Universal Music, and one more way to rock out to the latest tunes — possibly with limited data usage.
We’ll likely be hearing more about this new service soon, so stay tuned.
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