EMI Cuts Exclusive Nokia Cross-Promo Pact
The announcement action in the music space this week is in Florida at the CITA mobile phone conference. During a keynote speech there today, EMI CEO Eric Nicoli announced a new exclusive alliance with Nokia.
The new marketing and content agreement will kick off with Capitol Group artists Lily Allen and Red J
umpsuit Apparatus who will be featured in Nokia’s Flagship Store locations worldwide, as well as Nokia’s Experience Centers, theater locations and on Nokia music-related websites. Going forward, EMI will
be the exclusive major label provider of music content for the retail program with new content featured every 60 days.
The alliance underscores both Nokia’s belief in the branding power of music and EMI’s understanding that the mobile appears to increasingly be the avenue of choice for music discovery and purchase. (Read the press release after the jump.)
EMI Group CEO Eric Nicoli just delivered one of the keynote speeches at the CTIA Wireless 2007 conference in Orlando, FL. During his remarks about "Emerging Opportunities in Wireless," he announced the following global marketing agreement with Nokia. Below is a press release outlining the program:
NOKIA AND EMI MUSIC ANNOUNCE GLOBAL MARKETING AND CONTENT AGREEMENT
CAPITOL MUSIC GROUP ARTISTS LILY ALLEN AND RED JUMPSUIT APPARATUS TO BE FIRST FEATURED ARTISTS, NOKIA TO OFFER DIGITAL TRACKS, MUSIC VIDEOS, RINGTONES AND WALLPAPER
NOKIA FLAGSHIP STORES, EXPERIENCE CENTERS, THEATERS AND WEBSITES TO SHOWCASE EMI MUSIC ARTIST CONTENT AROUND THE WORLD
NEW YORK – March 28, 2007 – Nokia, a world leader in mobile communications, and EMI Music, one of the world’s leading music companies, have announced a marketing and content agreement in which EMI artists, beginning with Capitol Music Group artists Lily Allen and Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, will be featured in Nokia’s Flagship Store locations worldwide, as well as Nokia’s Experience Centers, theater locations and certain Nokia music-related websites across North America. EMI will be the exclusive major label provider of music content for the retail program, and new content from its artists will be added and featured every 60 days.
Today’s agreement comes at a time when demand for mobile entertainment continues to rise at a rapid rate. According to Gartner, global spending on mobile music from ringtones to full-track downloads is expected to reach $32.2 billion by 2010, an increase of nearly two and a half times this year’s predicted $13.7 billion. To capitalize on this trend, Nokia has entered the market with music-enabled phones such as the Nokia N91 and Nokia 5300 XpressMusic, which allow people to conveniently carry their music with them wherever they go. On the content side, EMI’s digital revenues continue to climb, and mobile products represent one of the fastest growing segments. As an example, EMI Music’s revenues from mobile products increased 154% year-on-year from fiscal 2005 to 2006.
“With the proliferation of music-enabled phones, more people are using them not just to talk, but to listen to, discover and buy music,” said Barney Wragg, Head of Digital for EMI Music worldwide. “We’re happy to be working with Nokia because so many of our goals are aligned, and we expect that our artists will benefit from global exposure and the chance to be heard among the millions of fans who use Nokia’s cool new handsets.”
The companies are collaborating to introduce consumers to new mobile entertainment products through hands-on experiences with new music on the mobile platform at multiple Nokia consumer touch points. For example, Nokia’s six flagship stores around the globe will feature in-store videos and point of sale material featuring EMI artists, its retail staff will use EMI artist content to demonstrate its newest music-enabled handsets, and EMI content will also be prominently featured on select Nokia consumer websites. Consumers can obtain free downloads, wallpapers, videos, ringtones and more from the EMI Featured Artists via in-store demos, which may include lessons in side-loading content.
“Mobile entertainment represents a major growth opportunity for us and our artists and it also provides fans with a cool, convenient and enjoyable legal way to experience their favorite artist’s music,” said Jeff Kempler, COO Capitol Music Group. “This compelling new program with Nokia – the world’s #1 handset manufacturer – provides global exposure for our artists, and will get music fans more excited about and comfortable with, acquiring music through mobile devices.”
Each Nokia Flagship Store features a dynamic retail environment with state-of-the-art multimedia displays. These displays invite guests to try out the features of a wide range of Nokia products, while giving fans access to exclusive mobile content from EMI artists. In 2005, the Nokia Theatre opened in Times Square, bringing top-name music and other live entertainment acts into a 2,100 seat venue in the heart of Manhattan. The company also opened a series of Nokia Experience Centers that offer additional opportunities to learn and explore the possibilities offered by Nokia products.
“Nokia is about much more than just manufacturing phones. Nokia is about connecting people, and nothing brings people closer together than music and conversation," said Jo Harlow, senior vice president of marketing for Nokia. "It’s only natural that leading companies like EMI and Nokia would combine their respective expertise in much the same way, making mobile music more accessible to people via a new and innovative joint marketing program”.
About Lily Allen and The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
Capitol Records’ Lily Allen, an artist dubbed "the queen of MySpace”, has already received widespread acclaim for her debut album, Alright, Still, which was released in the US on January 30 and debuted in the top 20 on the Billboard Top 200 chart. Allen, who recently performed on Saturday Night Live, has been recognized as an artist to watch. She has garnered critical acclaim in outlets such as The New York Times, Vibe, Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, Spin and the Los Angeles Times, and she also ranked #1 on Blender’s list of “25 Reasons to Love ’07” and #1 in URB’s Future Music issue.
Virgin Records rock quintet The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus’ debut album Don’t You Fake It has already been certified gold, and the album’s first single, “Face Down” is still a top 10 song at Alternative Radio 42 weeks after its release, and it continues to perform well on the Pop Radio chart where it is approaching the top 10.. The band has a rabid online following as well and is consistently one of the most played/viewed artists on MySpace.com and Purevolume.com, among other sites. The band is currently headlining the 2007 Take Action! Tour, which benefits the Youth America Hotline! (YAH!), and encourages young fans to engage with local organizations to combat depression and suicide.
About the Capitol Music Group
The Capitol Music Group consists of the Capitol and Virgin imprints and its roster includes such artists as 30 Seconds to Mars, Lily Allen, The Beatles, Corrine Bailey Rae, Dem Franchize Boyz, Chingy, Coldplay, Decemberists, OK Go, Gorillaz, Interpol, Lenny Kravitz, The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, The Rolling Stones and Joss Stone.
About EMI Music
EMI is one of the world’s leading music companies, operating in 50 countries. Its EMI Music division represents over 1000 artists spanning all musical tastes and genres. Its record labels include Angel, Astralwerks, Blue Note, Capitol, Capitol Nashville, EMI Classics, EMI CMG, EMI Records, EMI Televisa Music, Manhattan, Mute, Parlophone and Virgin. For further information on EMI, please visit: www.emigroup.com.
About Nokia
Nokia is a world leader in mobile communications, driving the growth and sustainability of the broader mobility industry. Nokia connects people to each other and the information that matters to them with easy-to-use and innovative products like mobile phones, devices and solutions for imaging, games, media and businesses. Nokia provides equipment, solutions and services for network operators and corporations
