David Bowie acts as new music ‘godfather’ for innovative music recommendations

Forty leading independent music stores from around the world are working with Nokia to create unique and customizable music recommendations. Music Recommenders brings together great new music across continents and genres, keeping music enthusiasts in touch with the latest tracks as well as helping them discover new artists.

Internationally influential independent record stores including Fat Beats (New York), Reckless (Chicago), Pure Groove (London), Hard Wax (Berlin) and Mona Records (Tokyo) will offer a personalised selection of new music across 12 genres – from Pop to Rock to Classical, Jazz and Electronic.

Every month, experts from each of the stores will bring together music from their specialist genre. No other music recommendation experience offers such an extensive combination of human insight, knowledge and expertise, coupled with global reach.

As a fanatical explorer and discoverer of music from around the world, David Bowie is taking the role of music ‘godfather’. He will be contributing to Music Recommenders every month through features and podcasts, sharing his most exciting discoveries as well as appearing in a short film, shot by Wim Wenders (Buena Vista Social Club), which advocates new music and the culture of record stores around the world.

Users can freely browse the music, search for music according to recommender, genre or style, listen to music clips and read weekly updates, artist interviews, city music guides and even information on the stores and recommenders themselves. Once registered, subscribers can receive an instant playlist of 30 second samples tailored specifically to their tastes and purchase the tracks they like. Once a month, users will receive the latest recommendations and editorial features direct to their email inbox.

“We’ve searched around the world to find the most passionate and credible music specialists. The stores featured on Music Recommenders have the experts who are supporting and breaking new artists,” commented Tommi Mustonen, Director, Multimedia, Nokia. “And we’re thrilled to have David Bowie – a musical icon – sharing his own passion for what’s new in music. We are able to make a wealth of knowledge, passion and foresight available on a global scale – something that has never before been attempted.”

“Waking up to a new sound or new band is something that makes my day just that bit more exciting,” said David Bowie. “Unfortunately, so much music goes unheard, especially things that don’t bow to the mainstream. Music Recommenders help navigate the undiscovered music that is out there. I’ve actually been to some of the stores featured on Music Recommenders in various parts of the world, and found them to be a wonderful source for new and less traditional music.”

“Perhaps the hardest thing about finding new music is finding a starting point, an entry point, somewhere to begin. Starting with record shops makes sense, because we listen to a vast amount of music and our ears are almost constantly being refined and tuned in to what is out there,” said Nick Turner from Smallfish Records in London. “As an idea, Music Recommenders is excellent; since the shops are diverse, the music will be too, but in amongst it all there will be something that appeals to everyone, whatever their taste.”

3UK beats off other network providers to take Best Operator and Best Content Service awards

3UK has been awarded two top honours at the prestigious Mobile Entertainment Awards 2006. The mobile media company beat off competition from other network providers including Vodafone, O2 and Orange, to claim the Best Operator award and Best Content Service for the highly acclaimed SeeMe TV service.

The globally recognised awards are one of the most prestigious sources of independent verification for the entire mobile content industry and are voted for by a panel of 300 industry peers. This panel is drawn from thought leaders, industry-heads and independent experts across US, Europe and Asia.

With over 3.75 million subscribers on its network, and some of the most innovative initiatives in the UK, 3 can justly claim to be the leading operator for mobile content and services. 3 prides itself on constantly responding to the demands of its customers so that it is always offering ground-breaking mobile entertainment.

In addition, the company was also recognised for its innovative SeeMe TV service, the ultimate user-generated content mobile channel, as well as enabling 3 customers to earn cash for clips. SeeMe TV is one of the most heavily used user-generated content sites on mobile and is breaking new ground.

Graeme Oxby, Marketing Director, 3UK, said: “The Mobile Entertainment Awards are designed to recognise excellence, so to be the only operator singled out amongst our competitors is a great achievement as well as a huge validation of 3UK’s service.”

“The Best Content Service Award is a great statement of the impact that SeeMe TV has had on the market. By widening the audience for customer content and rewarding creativity, the SeeMe TV service brings life to the possibilities offered by our network.”

EA to bring mobile titles to current and next generation Nokia devices

Nokia, the world leader in mobile communications, and Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS), the world’s leading interactive entertainment software company, today announced a collaboration that will see EA become a major supplier of mobile games to millions of Nokia mobile device owners through Nokia Content Discoverer. This solution allows mobile customers easy access to downloadable content through a collection of shopping mall “stores” on their mobile device. Initially, customers will be able to download seven EA titles, TetrisВ®, TetrisВ® Mania, The Sims(TM)2, DoomВ®, FIFA 06, Tiger Woods PGA TOURВ® 06 and FIFA Street 2 this holiday season. Starting in mid-2007, EA intends also to support the launch of the Nokia next generation mobile games platform with top EA titles that will be custom-designed for Nokia S60 devices.

In an effort to advance the content delivery model and overall player experience, Nokia and EA will work together to craft a superior mobile gaming experience for consumers worldwide. Nokia device owners can look forward to improved game quality, outstanding performance and intuitive delivery.

“Nokia shares our vision of making it easy for people around the world to find and play the best quality games on their mobile phones. We are looking forward to working more closely with Nokia on promoting a delivery system that propels mobile gaming forward,” said Mitch Lasky, senior vice president, EA. “This relationship will bring together EA’s great brands and development studios with Nokia’s innovative hardware and global consumer reach.”

“The core of Nokia’s games strategy is to make it easy for people to find, buy and play great quality mobile games and we’re excited to expand our relationship with EA to help make that possible,” said Jaakko Kaidesoja, director, games, Multimedia, Nokia. “Nokia and EA have a common vision regarding the opportunities in mobile games and how to turn them into a reality. When you combine Nokia’s leadership in hardware, usabiliy and software platforms with EA’s brands and quality thresholds, the results will speak for themselves.”

Launching the first half 2007, Nokia’s next generation mobile gaming platform makes it easy for people to find, buy, play and share rich and immersive games on a range of Nokia smartphones. EA intends to deliver a range of popular EA SPORTS(TM) and EA(TM) branded mobile titles at the launch of this next generation mobile gaming initiative.