Motorola and Warner Music Strike Mobile Partnership

Mobile music represents a lucrative and growing arena, and that is driving deeper label relationships.

Just recently, Warner Music Group joined forces with Motorola on a broad-based mobile partnership, one that will include a wide range of assets.  As part of the deal, Motorola will receive exclusive and early access to Warner content, and assets will be distributed as over-the-air (OTA) songs, ringtones, ringback tones, mobile music videos, wallpapers, and more.

Pre-loaded songs will also be part of the arrangement, and the team intends to work closely with various carriers to promote featured artists.  “Exclusive access to content from Warner’s world-renowned roster of artists enables our mobile phone consumers to further enrich and personalize their mobile multimedia experiences,” explained Scott Durchslag, a top executive at Motorola Mobile Devices.

Mobile consumers are responsive to high-powered hits, and genres like rap and hip-hop dominate ringtone and ringback tone charts.  That will probably guide the thinking of the pair, at least initially, and Warner has plenty of urban hits to promote.

Meanwhile, exclusives and creative tie-ins will help to drive consumer uptake for Motorola, and the mobile manufacturer intends to strike similar content deals in the future.  “We think this venture has potential to serve as a successful template for building relationships with other music and entertainment entities around the world,” said Durchslag.

Overall, the mobile music terrain remains incredibly fertile, and newer ideas – like ringback tones and mobile music videos – are helping to spark increased purchasing.