Sony Ericsson Launches Music Store

Mobile phone maker Sony Ericsson entered into the already-crowded online music store market on Tuesday by introducing M-BUZZ, a service aimed at promoting new and up-and-coming artists. Two phones would initially offer the service, W850 and W950 Walkman phones that were announced earlier this year.

However, the service will not be available in North America - at least not initially. Both phones would debut European, Asian and Latin American markets later this year. The company sees these phones as a way to promote artists from Sony/ATV Music Publishing's roster, offering some compelling cross promotional opportunities.

"Today's announcement is another great example of the cooperative spirit that exists between Sony Ericsson and other Sony Group companies, which gives us a unique opportunity to bring appealing, innovative content to our mobile phones," Sony Ericsson president Miles Flint said.

The service is built atop Sony Ericsson's PlayNow service, which allowed for the listening and purchase of ringtones previously. PlayNow has now been enhanced to allow full track music to accommodate the new service, the company said. Available content includes music videos, songs, biographies, tour schedules, and other content.

Eventually, M-BUZZ would expand to more commercial music, but that is not in the immediate plans. Artists at launch would include Kish Mauve, Embassy, Dirty Perfect, FKLV, Iggy, The Head Set, Bobby Kray, Anjulie, Lights and Monte*Rosa.

The service is expected to go live October 2 in 20 markets that are already using PlayNow, Sony Ericsson said.