Sony BMG pushing mobile music in China

Sony BMG Music Entertainment has struck a deal with content aggregator Global Music International to distribute the company’s music videos, full track songs and ringtones to mobile subscribers in China.

Global Music will be distributing the Sony content through China Unicom, allowing subscribers to buy and download songs, music videos and ringtones onto their handsets. Global Music International will be able to offer a wide range of music from Sony BMG, including content from Chinese and Western artists.

With more than 300 million mobile subscribers and growing, China is an important market for the mobile content business. And interest in mobile content is growing.

But the music labels have already been fighting against illegal access to copyrighted content. About 85 percent of recordings in China are illegal. Pirated music sales were worth about $10 million in 2005, according to IFPI, a group representing the music industry. In January, 11 music companies, including Warner Music Group and Sony BMG, filed a lawsuit against Yahoo China for allegedly infringing copyrights by providing links to unlicensed music.

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Sony BMG pushing mobile music in China

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