Thumbplay Forges 20 New Content Deals for Just-Launched Thumbplay Music; 8 Million Tracks Now Under License for the Cloud-Based, On-Demand Service

NEW YORK, Feb. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Thumbplay (www.thumbplay.com), the leading mobile entertainment company in the U.S., has forged agreements with 20 new content partners for its new Thumbplay Music application.  The number of tracks currently under license for the service now exceeds 8 million. Included in the latest round of content deals for the app are: Beggars Group, Merge Records, Redeye Distribution and Tunecore.  The announcement comes just weeks after Thumbplay announced the service's Private Beta launch with content from Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group and EMI Music as well as CD Baby, INgrooves, IODA and The Orchard.  Thumbplay Music is a cloud-based, subscription music service that provides unlimited, on-demand access to millions of songs.   It is a next generation music service, built by experts in mobile content delivery, to serve the rapidly growing market of U.S. smartphone users, which is forecasted to grow to 160 million people by 2013.**  

Thumbplay also announced today that it has closed deals with: AWAL; BFM Digital; DashGo; Dig Dis; E1 Music;  Finetunes; IRIS; Nettwerk; Nu Urban; Oseao; Rebeat Digital; Record Union; RouteNote; Sundesire Records, Symphonic Distribution and The state51Conspiracy.  As of today, Thumbplay includes more than 25,000 independent labels and more than 75,000 do-it-yourself artists.

Currently, Thumbplay Music is available by invitation-only (request at http://music.thumbplay.com) on select BlackBerry® smartphones* and on PCs/Macs® through a downloadable Adobe®AIR® desktop version.   The app is scheduled to launch widely to consumers within the first quarter of 2010 and will be available on Android, iPhone and additional BlackBerry smartphones.

Evan Schwartz, Thumbplay CEO and Co-Founder said, "Our goal is to offer music fans the widest selection possible – spanning every genre out there – and to provide an effortless way to discover new artists.  I believe the speed with which we've been able to close deals for Thumbplay Music speaks to the strength of the app and the great need for a full service, on-demand and portable music experience."

According to Simon Wheeler, Director of Digital at Beggars Group, "We are extremely proud to include our artists and labels in the new Thumbplay Music service.  It delivers on its promise of a great experience for music fans wherever they listen to music.  Whether on their smartphones or at their computers, fans of our artists and labels, including 4AD, Matador, Rough Trade and XL Recordings, can listen to new releases the minute they are available.  This includes the recent USA number one album from Vampire Weekend as well as Cat Power, The National, The xx and Jarvis Cocker and more great artists from our catalogue like The Pixies, The Cult, Interpol and The Prodigy. Thumbplay Music is a great music service for fans of our original, creative music."

Redeye Marketing Director, Josh Wittman, added, "Thumbplay Music is a big win for music fans–'must-have' tunes are always at hand, and it is a great music discovery tool.   You'll soon be able to find and play music from all of our artists including Liam Finn, Nick Lowe, Robyn Hitchcock, Elliott Smith, The Decemberists, Gossip, DeVotchKa, The Black Keys, Laura Veirs, The Annuals and Pelican–and all right on your phone and PC.  We're delivering content from all of the Redeye labels, including Yep Roc, Luaka Bop, Kill Rock Stars, Ace Fu, Hydra Head, Bomp/Alive and Sargent House.  We're thrilled to be on board with a next generation music service that is worthy of the fans of our great music."

Thumbplay Music includes its own in-app media player and boasts several compelling features, including:

• Unlimited, on-demand access to any artist or album; includes millions of high-quality songs
• Online and offline smartphone access, listen to music without Wi-Fi® or network connection.   Whether underground or mid-flight, playlists are available for listening offline–delivering true portability
• Effortless playlist creation; add songs or albums to playlists which automatically, wirelessly synchronize across PC, Mac and Smartphone devices  
• AutoPlaylist – Instantly generate expert recommendations based on favorite songs; a great way to discover new music
• iTunes® playlist re-creation within Thumbplay Music's desktop app. With a few clicks, recreate iTunes playlists and have them available on your PC and smartphone.
• Search – Find music by artist, song, album or genre; includes free previews of all songs
• Favorites – a quick, intuitive way to build a personal music collection that automatically synchronizes between smartphones and the desktop app

The Thumbplay Music service will include a free, three-day trial of its unlimited, on-demand service.  Following the trial period, subscriptions are $9.99 per month.  

Thumbplay, which enjoys sustained profitability, has built an award-winning service centered on delivering millions of pieces of mobile content to 95 percent of U.S. devices among every major carrier.   Thumbplay will leverage its existing network of more than 8,000 distribution partners to promote Thumbplay Music.  

ABOUT THUMBPLAY

Thumbplay, Inc. is defining the mobile entertainment experience for U.S. consumers.  Thumbplay.com features licensed music, video and games from some of the world's largest entertainment companies, including: EMI, Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group, as well as several independent labels and artists and video game companies. Headquartered in New York City, Thumbplay was founded in September 2004 by Are Traasdahl and Evan Schwartz. Investors include Bain Capital Ventures, SoftBank Capital, i-Hatch Ventures, Redwood Partners, New Enterprise Associates, Meritech, Brookside Capital Partners and Cross Creek Capital. More information can be found at www.thumbplay.com or at m.thumbplay.com from a mobile phone.

*As of January 7, 2010, the Private Beta launch of Thumbplay Music supports the following BlackBerry Smartphones: BlackBerry® Tour™ 9630 (Verizon, Sprint), BlackBerry® Bold™ 9000 (AT&T) and BlackBerry® Curve™ 8900 (T-Mobile).    

**Yankee Group (2009)

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SOURCE Thumbplay, Inc.