It seems every large handset maker wants a piece of the ever-growing music downloads business. Motorola is not an exception, hence they’ve acquired the Singapore-based music downloads service Soundbuzz. Those not familiar should know Soundbuzz is one of the leading pan-Asian music provider, which currently has 750,000+ track strong song database and partnership agreements with Hutchison 3, Motorola, Airtel, SingTel, M1, Optus Zoo, Telstra, BigPond Music, Windows Media Player 10, Creative Technology and SONY BMG.
According to Motorola’s release — which follows after the break — the acquisition of Soundbuzz will allow the American handset maker to expand MOTOMUSIC beyond China, into India, Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand. Soundbuzz is a privately held company and the terms of the acquisition were not disclosed… And now the official release.
PRESS RELEASE – Motorola, Inc. today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Soundbuzz Pte. Ltd., a privately held, leading pan-Asian music provider. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The acquisition, which is subject to customary conditions, is expected to close in the first quarter of 2008.
Through its MOTOMUSIC service, Motorola has more than two years experience delivering mobile music to consumers with its carrier customers in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. The acquisition of Soundbuzz allows Motorola to expand MOTOMUSIC beyond China, into India, Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand. With well over 90 percent of all digital music content in Asia sold via mobile channels, a level expected to remain in the coming years, Motorola’s strength in music delivery will help its carrier customers access this growth opportunity.
Soundbuzz’s multi-region music delivery platform enables the purchase and distribution of digital content through over-the-air and wired broadband connections. The company’s end-to-end system includes subscriber management, content management, payment, client software and media delivery technologies. The company maintains a consumer-facing brand, Soundbuzz, and will continue to provide “white-label” services to carrier customers that offer tailored solutions for Multimedia delivery.
“We are very pleased to announce this transaction with Soundbuzz. It will provide Motorola with one of the most extensive music libraries in the Asia Pacific region, advance our music and video offerings in Australia and South East Asia, and build on the success of our MOTOMUSIC Services in China,” said Bill Werner, senior vice president, future solutions and technology for mobile devices. “We are delighted to welcome Soundbuzz’s strong management whose extensive region specific experience in the music and video industries will enhance the strength of our mobile device teams.”
“Motorola’s dedication to enhancing the digital music experience in Asia complements our own objectives and makes it the ideal partner,” said Sudhanshu Sarronwala, CEO of Soundbuzz. “This combination will help us extend our platform and create exciting growth opportunities for Soundbuzz’s employees and our partner music labels. Further, our customers will benefit from the technological advancements that we expect to deliver as part of a global leader in mobile communications.”
Headquartered in Singapore, Soundbuzz has access to one of the most extensive music libraries in the Asia-Pacific region, through licenses from Sony BMG, EMI, Warner Music International and Universal Music Group, as well as over 45 independent record labels in Asia, the U.S. and Europe. Motorola intends to maintain Soundbuzz’s Singapore headquarters, which will be an integral component of Motorola’s digital music development strategy in Asia.