Omnifone
Encyclopedia
Omnifone is an independent provider of cloud based unlimited music services to consumer electronics vendors, mobile carriers and internet service providers including RIM
,Sony
,HP, Sony Ericsson
, Vodafone
, Telenor
, Hutchison Telecom and Vodacom
.
Omnifone enables legitimate cloud
based unlimited music consumption and a viable alternative to piracy across multiple in-home, in-car, mobile and PC platforms
and has launched its MusicStation
powered unlimited music services across five continents on a wide range of devices.
, Sony Music Entertainment
, Warner Music Group
and EMI Music.
In January 2011 Omnifone secured Germany’s first global subscription licensing with GEMA
is Omnifone’s multi-award winning unlimited music service. The cloud based service works across a number of different digital device platforms and is tailored specifically for each market, platform and partner. Omnifone provides a number of different variants of MusicStation:
MusicStation Next Generation is a white label
unlimited music audio and video download and streaming solution for ISPs and consumer electronics
device vendors. The cloud based solution enables partners to provide interoperable unlimited music solutions on a range of connected devices, from home entertainment systems
and gaming consoles to set-top boxes and in-car audio
systems. Omnifone confirmed reports that it is in discussions with BSkyB as its first ISP (Internet Service Provider) customer at GSMA Mobile World Congress 2009
. BSkyB launched its web based streaming and downloads service, Sky Songs, in the UK in October 2009 with Omnifone powering the service.
MusicStation Max Manufacturer Edition is a white label pre-licensed unlimited music service development programme for mobile device vendors. Omnifone partners with device vendors to develop MusicStation Max powered devices pre-licensed for unlimited music downloads enabling mobile device vendors and mobile carriers to compete effectively with Nokia
’s Comes With Music service. The service enables users to download, play and share unlimited amounts of music directly on their device. Omnifone has partnered with Sony Ericsson
to power its unlimited music download service PlayNow plus
with MusicStation Max. The first Walkman
handsets with PlayNow plus were launched on 24 November 2008 by Telenor
in Sweden. Sony Ericsson has rolled out the service in 2009 with Swisscom
in Switzerland, Singtel in Singapore and Orange in Austria with further launches planned with mobile carriers internationally.
MusicStation Desktop Edition enables consumers download, play and share music, direct to their desktop computer. The service is provided in partnership with personal computer vendors, mobile carrier networks, and broadband providers. MusicStation Desktop Edition provides a personalised user experience, which features play-based music recommendations, connected community services and features, and an automatic back-up of private and public playlists to the cloud, plus online search and discovery capabilities. The service is able to synchronise with all other MusicStation-powered services and mobile devices via the cloud. In April 2009 Hutchison Telecom became the first Omnifone partner to introduce MusicStation Desktop Edition to users in Hong Kong on its 3
network provided ‘in concert’ with MusicStation Mobile Edition providing unlimited access to music across mobile and PC. In January 2010 MusicStation launched across Europe on HP desktop and laptop PCs in the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Austria, Belgium, Sweden, Switzerland and the Netherlands.
MusicStation Mobile Operator Edition is a multi-award winning unlimited music service which works across a wide range of mobile carrier handsets. Omnifone partners with mobile carriers to deliver the client based service which gives consumers the ability to download, play and share unlimited amounts of music, direct-to-mobile for a small weekly fee with no data charges or bundled into selected price plans at no extra charge. MusicStation is pre-installed by partner carriers or downloaded for free from carrier portals such as Vodafone Live!
. Omnifone has rolled out MusicStation Mobile Edition across four continents with Vodafone UK, Australia
and New Zealand
, Telenor
Sweden, 3 Hong Kong
, Vodacom
South Africa.
in January 2009 to bring interoperable cloud based unlimited music services to multiple device platforms including in-car, in-home, PC and mobile devices. A demonstration of the Omnifone/Gracenote technology won a Best of CES award at the Consumer Electronics Show
in January 2009 followed a year later by an announcement at CES
2010 that Omnifone had introduced digital music services with Gracenote technology in 20 countries in 2009.
-listed CNET Networks, part of CBS
in 2001). The trio founded Omnifone to enable the next generation of digital content services to be delivered globally. The company spent four years developing its unlimited music service platform before announcing MusicStation in February 2007.
, London
, with its Asia Pacific HQ in Hong Kong.
Research In Motion
Research In Motion Limited or RIM is a Canadian multinational telecommunications company headquartered in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada that designs, manufactures and markets wireless solutions for the worldwide mobile communications market...
,Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
,HP, Sony Ericsson
Sony Ericsson
Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB is a joint venture established on October 1, 2001 by the Japanese consumer electronics company Sony Corporation and the Swedish telecommunications company Ericsson to manufacture mobile phones....
, Vodafone
Vodafone
Vodafone Group Plc is a global telecommunications company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world's largest mobile telecommunications company measured by revenues and the world's second-largest measured by subscribers , with around 341 million proportionate subscribers as of...
, Telenor
Telenor
Telenor Group is the incumbent telecommunications company in Norway, with headquarters located at Fornebu, close to Oslo. Today, Telenor Group is mostly an international wireless carrier with operations in Scandinavia, Eastern Europe and Asia, working predominantly under the Telenor brand...
, Hutchison Telecom and Vodacom
Vodacom
Vodacom is a pan-African mobile telecommunications company, and was the 1st cellular network in South Africa. It provides GSM service to more than 35 million customers in South Africa, Tanzania, Lesotho, Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Revenue for the year ended 31 March 2008...
.
Omnifone enables legitimate cloud
Cloud computing
Cloud computing is the delivery of computing as a service rather than a product, whereby shared resources, software, and information are provided to computers and other devices as a utility over a network ....
based unlimited music consumption and a viable alternative to piracy across multiple in-home, in-car, mobile and PC platforms
Platform (computing)
A computing platform includes some sort of hardware architecture and a software framework , where the combination allows software, particularly application software, to run...
and has launched its MusicStation
MusicStation
MusicStation is a music service platform developed by Omnifone. The cloud based platform works across a number of different digital device platforms and is tailored specifically for various partners including RIM, Sony, Sony Ericsson, HP, BSkyB, Vodafone, Telenor, Hutchison Telecom and...
powered unlimited music services across five continents on a wide range of devices.
Licensing
In June 2007 Omnifone secured the first international licensing agreements for unlimited music services with all four major music labels; Universal Music GroupUniversal Music Group
Universal Music Group is an American music group, the largest of the "big four" record companies by its commanding market share and its multitude of global operations...
, Sony Music Entertainment
Sony Music Entertainment
Sony Music Entertainment ' is the second-largest global recorded music company of the "big four" record companies and is controlled by Sony Corporation of America, the United States subsidiary of Japan's Sony Corporation....
, Warner Music Group
Warner Music Group
Warner Music Group is the third largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry, making it one of the big four record companies...
and EMI Music.
In January 2011 Omnifone secured Germany’s first global subscription licensing with GEMA
Services
MusicStationMusicStation
MusicStation is a music service platform developed by Omnifone. The cloud based platform works across a number of different digital device platforms and is tailored specifically for various partners including RIM, Sony, Sony Ericsson, HP, BSkyB, Vodafone, Telenor, Hutchison Telecom and...
is Omnifone’s multi-award winning unlimited music service. The cloud based service works across a number of different digital device platforms and is tailored specifically for each market, platform and partner. Omnifone provides a number of different variants of MusicStation:
MusicStation Next Generation is a white label
White label
White label records are vinyl records with adhesive plain white labels affixed. Test pressings, usually with Test Pressing written on the label, with catalogue number, artist and recording time or date, are produced in small quantities to evaluate the quality of the disc production...
unlimited music audio and video download and streaming solution for ISPs and consumer electronics
Consumer electronics
Consumer electronics are electronic equipment intended for everyday use, most often in entertainment, communications and office productivity. Radio broadcasting in the early 20th century brought the first major consumer product, the broadcast receiver...
device vendors. The cloud based solution enables partners to provide interoperable unlimited music solutions on a range of connected devices, from home entertainment systems
Home cinema
Home cinema, also commonly called home theater, are home entertainment set-ups that seek to reproduce a movie theater experience and mood with the help of video and audio equipment in a private home....
and gaming consoles to set-top boxes and in-car audio
Car audio
Car audio/video , auto radio, mobile audio, 12-volt and other terms are used to describe the sound or video system fitted in an automobile. While 12-volt audio and video systems are also used, marketed, or manufactured for marine, aviation, and buses, this article focuses on cars as the most common...
systems. Omnifone confirmed reports that it is in discussions with BSkyB as its first ISP (Internet Service Provider) customer at GSMA Mobile World Congress 2009
Mobile World Congress
The GSMA Mobile World Congress is the combination of the world's largest exhibition for the mobile industry and a conference featuring prominent Chief Executives representing mobile operators, device manufacturers, technology providers, vendors and content owners from across the world...
. BSkyB launched its web based streaming and downloads service, Sky Songs, in the UK in October 2009 with Omnifone powering the service.
MusicStation Max Manufacturer Edition is a white label pre-licensed unlimited music service development programme for mobile device vendors. Omnifone partners with device vendors to develop MusicStation Max powered devices pre-licensed for unlimited music downloads enabling mobile device vendors and mobile carriers to compete effectively with Nokia
Nokia
Nokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational communications corporation that is headquartered in Keilaniemi, Espoo, a city neighbouring Finland's capital Helsinki...
’s Comes With Music service. The service enables users to download, play and share unlimited amounts of music directly on their device. Omnifone has partnered with Sony Ericsson
Sony Ericsson
Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB is a joint venture established on October 1, 2001 by the Japanese consumer electronics company Sony Corporation and the Swedish telecommunications company Ericsson to manufacture mobile phones....
to power its unlimited music download service PlayNow plus
PlayNow
PlayNow is Sony Ericsson's download service for media including music, games, ringtones, wallpapers and themes. It was introduced in February 2004 as a way for owners of SE phones to listen to and directly purchase ringtones. It was rolled out into 32 countries....
with MusicStation Max. The first Walkman
Walkman
Walkman is a Sony brand tradename originally used for portable audio cassette, and now used to market Sony's portable audio and video players as well as a line of Sony Ericsson mobile phones...
handsets with PlayNow plus were launched on 24 November 2008 by Telenor
Telenor
Telenor Group is the incumbent telecommunications company in Norway, with headquarters located at Fornebu, close to Oslo. Today, Telenor Group is mostly an international wireless carrier with operations in Scandinavia, Eastern Europe and Asia, working predominantly under the Telenor brand...
in Sweden. Sony Ericsson has rolled out the service in 2009 with Swisscom
Swisscom
Swisscom AG is a major telecommunications provider in Switzerland. Along with Swiss Post, it is a successor company to the former state-owned PTT. Its headquarters are located at Worblaufen near Bern...
in Switzerland, Singtel in Singapore and Orange in Austria with further launches planned with mobile carriers internationally.
MusicStation Desktop Edition enables consumers download, play and share music, direct to their desktop computer. The service is provided in partnership with personal computer vendors, mobile carrier networks, and broadband providers. MusicStation Desktop Edition provides a personalised user experience, which features play-based music recommendations, connected community services and features, and an automatic back-up of private and public playlists to the cloud, plus online search and discovery capabilities. The service is able to synchronise with all other MusicStation-powered services and mobile devices via the cloud. In April 2009 Hutchison Telecom became the first Omnifone partner to introduce MusicStation Desktop Edition to users in Hong Kong on its 3
Hutchison 3G
3 is a brand name under which several UMTS-based mobile phone networks and Broadband Internet Providers are operated in Australia, Austria, Denmark, Hong Kong, Macau, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, and the United Kingdom...
network provided ‘in concert’ with MusicStation Mobile Edition providing unlimited access to music across mobile and PC. In January 2010 MusicStation launched across Europe on HP desktop and laptop PCs in the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Austria, Belgium, Sweden, Switzerland and the Netherlands.
MusicStation Mobile Operator Edition is a multi-award winning unlimited music service which works across a wide range of mobile carrier handsets. Omnifone partners with mobile carriers to deliver the client based service which gives consumers the ability to download, play and share unlimited amounts of music, direct-to-mobile for a small weekly fee with no data charges or bundled into selected price plans at no extra charge. MusicStation is pre-installed by partner carriers or downloaded for free from carrier portals such as Vodafone Live!
Vodafone live!
Vodafone live! was the brand name for the multimedia portal service of mobile phone operator Vodafone, which was initially developed by Japan's J-Phone under the J-Sky brand...
. Omnifone has rolled out MusicStation Mobile Edition across four continents with Vodafone UK, Australia
Vodafone Australia
Vodafone Australia is a mobile telephone company, a subsidiary of Vodafone Hutchison Australia. Vodafone Australia was formerly a wholly owned subsidiary of Vodafone Plc ....
and New Zealand
Vodafone New Zealand
Vodafone New Zealand is a British owned telecommunications company, a subsidiary of Vodafone Plc operating in New Zealand. It is New Zealand's largest mobile phone operator, based in Auckland, New Zealand and was formed in 1998, after Vodafone purchased BellSouth's New Zealand operations...
, Telenor
Telenor
Telenor Group is the incumbent telecommunications company in Norway, with headquarters located at Fornebu, close to Oslo. Today, Telenor Group is mostly an international wireless carrier with operations in Scandinavia, Eastern Europe and Asia, working predominantly under the Telenor brand...
Sweden, 3 Hong Kong
Hutchison 3G
3 is a brand name under which several UMTS-based mobile phone networks and Broadband Internet Providers are operated in Australia, Austria, Denmark, Hong Kong, Macau, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, and the United Kingdom...
, Vodacom
Vodacom
Vodacom is a pan-African mobile telecommunications company, and was the 1st cellular network in South Africa. It provides GSM service to more than 35 million customers in South Africa, Tanzania, Lesotho, Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Revenue for the year ended 31 March 2008...
South Africa.
Key Management
- Jeff Hughes – Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
- Mathew Bagley – Chief Financial Officer (CFO)
- Doug Imrie – Chief Operating Officer (COO)
- Steve Pocock – Chief Technology Officer (CTO)
Founders
- Rob LewisRob Lewis (entrepreneur)Rob Lewis is an English businessman and serial entrepreneur. Lewis has established several successful publishing and technology ventures including Business & Technology magazine, Cromwell Media, Silicon Media Group and most recently Omnifone. Lewis is a 2009 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the...
– Executive Chairman - Phil Sant – Chief Engineer
- Mark Knight – Chief Architect
Funding
Omnifone is privately funded by the company’s founders Rob Lewis, Phil Sant and Mark Knight with additional funding from diversified alternative investment firm Sofaer Capital.Partnership with Gracenote
Omnifone announced a partnership with GracenoteGracenote
Gracenote, Inc., formerly called CDDB , is a company that maintains and licenses an Internet-accessible database containing information about the contents of audio compact discs and vinyl records. It provides software and metadata to businesses that enable their customers to manage and search...
in January 2009 to bring interoperable cloud based unlimited music services to multiple device platforms including in-car, in-home, PC and mobile devices. A demonstration of the Omnifone/Gracenote technology won a Best of CES award at the Consumer Electronics Show
Consumer Electronics Show
The International Consumer Electronics Show is a major technology-related trade show held each January in the Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. Not open to the public, the Consumer Electronics Association-sponsored show typically hosts previews of products and new...
in January 2009 followed a year later by an announcement at CES
Consumer Electronics Show
The International Consumer Electronics Show is a major technology-related trade show held each January in the Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. Not open to the public, the Consumer Electronics Association-sponsored show typically hosts previews of products and new...
2010 that Omnifone had introduced digital music services with Gracenote technology in 20 countries in 2009.
History
UK entrepreneurs Rob Lewis, Phil Sant and Mark Knight established Omnifone in January 2003 after more than seven years working together in the internet space founding software development company Cromwell Media (sold to InterX for £850m in 2000) and IT industry news site Silicon.com (sold to NASDAQNASDAQ
The NASDAQ Stock Market, also known as the NASDAQ, is an American stock exchange. "NASDAQ" originally stood for "National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations". It is the second-largest stock exchange by market capitalization in the world, after the New York Stock Exchange. As of...
-listed CNET Networks, part of CBS
CBS Corporation
CBS Corporation is an American media conglomerate focused on commercial broadcasting, publishing, billboards and television production, with most of its operations in the United States. The President and CEO of the company is Leslie Moonves. Sumner Redstone, owner of National Amusements, is CBS's...
in 2001). The trio founded Omnifone to enable the next generation of digital content services to be delivered globally. The company spent four years developing its unlimited music service platform before announcing MusicStation in February 2007.
-
- • 14th January 2003: British Entrepreneurs Rob LewisRob Lewis (entrepreneur)Rob Lewis is an English businessman and serial entrepreneur. Lewis has established several successful publishing and technology ventures including Business & Technology magazine, Cromwell Media, Silicon Media Group and most recently Omnifone. Lewis is a 2009 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the...
, Phil Sant and Mark Knight form Omnifone
- • 14th January 2003: British Entrepreneurs Rob Lewis
-
- • 12th February 2007: Omnifone announces MusicStation
-
- • 14th June 2007: MusicStation goes live with its first rollout in Sweden with Telenor
-
- • 22nd October 2007: MusicStation launches in Hong Kong with 3
-
- • 1st November 2007: MusicStation launches in South Africa with Vodacom
-
- • 1st November 2007: MusicStation launches in the UK with Vodafone
-
- • 12th February 2008: Omnifone launches MusicStation Max, a pre-licensed unlimited music phone development programme with LG signed up as a handset manufacturer
-
- • 15th September 2008: MusicStation launches in New Zealand with Vodafone
-
- • 22nd September 2008: MusicStation launches in Australia with Vodafone
-
- • 24th September 2008: Omnifone announces partnership with Sony Ericsson to power PlayNow plus, its pre-licensed unlimited downloads service across Walkman mobiles
-
- • 14th November 2008: Sony Ericsson launches PlayNow plus in Sweden with Telenor
-
- • 8th January 2009: Omnifone announces partnership with Gracenote to bring unlimited music to multiple device platforms
-
- • 12th January 2009: Omnifone powered in-car entertainment system CarStars wins CNET ‘Best of CES’ Car Tech award at the 2009 International Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas; the largest consumer electronics event in the world
-
- • 16th February 2009: Omnifone announces MusicStation Next Generation unlimited music service for ISPs to fight piracy online, confirming reports that it is in discussions with BSkyB as its first ISP customer
-
- • 13th March 2009: Sony Ericsson launches PlayNow plus in Switzerland with Swisscom
-
- • 2nd April 2009: MusicStation Desktop Edition launches in Hong Kong
-
- • 23rd April 2009: Sony Ericsson launches PlayNow plus in Singapore with Singtel
-
- • 9th June 2009: Sony Ericsson launches PlayNow plus in Austria with Orange
-
- • 8th September 2009: Sony Ericsson launches PlayNow plus in The Netherlands with T-Mobile
-
- • 14th October 2009: Sony Ericsson launches PlayNow plus in Hungary with T-Mobile
-
- • 19th October 2009: BSkyB launches Sky Songs streaming and downloads service in the UK
-
- • 23rd October 2009: Sony Ericsson launches PlayNow plus in Brazil with Vivo
-
- • 9th November 2009: Sony Ericsson launches PlayNow plus in Mexico with Telcel
-
- • 20th November 2009: Sony Ericsson launches PlayNow plus in Croatia with T-Mobile
-
- • 21st November 2009: Sony Ericsson launches PlayNow plus in Singapore with M1
-
- • 8th January 2010: Omnifone extends relationship with Gracenote, allows for cloud-based music solutions in more than 30 countries in 2010
-
- • 25th January 2010: Omnifone announces partnership with HP for MusicStation on PCs in 10 countries across Europe
-
- • 15th February 2010: Omnifone announces MusicStation for Android
-
- • 16th February 2010: Omnifone first to encode its global music catalogue into Dolby Pulse file format for cloud based digital music services in 2010
-
- • 16th April 2010: Omnifone appoints Jeff Hughes as CEO
-
- • 22nd December 2010: Sony launches Q Music Unlimited cloud music service powered by Omnifone in the UK and Ireland
-
- • 22nd January 2011: Sony launches Q Music Unlimited cloud music service powered by Omnifone in France, Germany, Italy and Spain
-
- • 17th February 2011: Sony launches Q Music Unlimited cloud music service powered by Omnifone in the US, Australia and New Zealand
-
- • 25th August 2011: RIM launches BBM Music social music service in beta - powered by Omnifone in the US, Canada and the UK
Awards
Omnifone has won a number of awards for its unlimited music services including:- Ernst & Young UK Entrepreneur of the Year Awards 2009: London & South – Rob Lewis, CEO, Omnifone
- Oracle UK Partner Awards 2009 – Most Innovative use of Oracle Technology
- CNET ‘Best of CES’ Car Tech Award 2009 – with Gracenote
- Global Mobile Awards 2008 – Best Mobile Music Service Award
- Mobile Industry Awards 2008 – Best Mobile Internet Service
- Mobile Entertainment Forum (MEF) Meffys 2007 – Music Service Award Meffy
- Juniper Research Future Music Awards 2008 – Gold Award for Mobile Music
- PwC UK Technology, Innovation & Growth Awards 2008 Entrepreneur of the Year – Rob Lewis, CEO, Omnifone
- Oracle Magazine Editor’s Choice Awards 2008 Embedded Architect of the Year – Phil Sant, COO and Mark Knight, Chief Architect, Omnifone
- Mediatech 100 2008
- MCA (Mobile Content Awards) 2008: Silver Award: Best entertainment service
- MAMA (Mobile Advertising & Marketing Awards) 2008: Gold Award: Most Effective Use of Music
- AO (Always On) Global 250 2008
- Red Herring 100 2007 – EMEA Award 2007
- Red Herring 100 2007 – Global Award 2007
Locations
Omnifone is headquartered in Island Studios22 St Peter's Square (London)
22 St Peter's Square, in Hammersmith, London, is a grade II Listed building with a former laundry that has been converted to an architects' studio and office building. It has previously been Island Records' Headquarters and recording studios and The Royal Chiswick Laundry...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, with its Asia Pacific HQ in Hong Kong.