Warner Tunes Korean Cell Music

In many ways I see the example below giving the international music industry the chance to see what will work in the mobile world, but doing so without blowing things in the West if something goes wrong. The data generated from this idea below could prove valuable.

Warner Music International signed a deal Wednesday with SK Telecom, one of South Korea’s largest mobile service operators, to form a joint venture that will blend Warner Music’s content with SK Telecom’s music distribution expertise.

The move seems to fit with the dynamics of the South Korean market, where music fans spend twice as much on mobile music as they do on other forms of retail music products.

The joint venture, WS Entertainment, will combine SK Telecom’s distribution expertise and its ownership of Seoul Records, a 27-year-old music company with a roster of local talent, along with Warner Music Korea’s content, roster, and marketing skills.

The popularity of mobile entertainment in South Korea will give Warner Music International an opportunity to look into what could be a big part of the future of the music industry.

“WS Entertainment will give us the ability to easily experiment with sophisticated windowing strategies, bundling of new forms of content, ad-supported models, and premium content,” said Edgar Bronfman Jr., Warner Music Group’s chief executive…. Source: Red Herring

[tags]sk telecom,warner,tunes,korean,cell music,windowing strategies[/tags]