7digital has renewed its deals with Universal Music Group to provide curated music services in France.
Universal Music France is partnered with mobile operator La Poste Mobile on a Universal-only music service for its subscribers, while UMF subsidiary Digster offers playlist services that are bundled with telco deals across Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
For the former service, B2B music services experts 7digital will continue to provide technical access to UMG’s catalogue of music songs and artists, and provide back-end user reporting for the service to the label. For the latter, in addition to catalogue and back-end support, 7digital will also enable Digster to service a niche catalogue of tracks that can cater to different markets and regional tastes.
The deal extends the agreement between Universal and 7digital, first set up in 2018, by a minimum of a further 12 months.
“This contract renewal demonstrates 7digital’s utility in supporting the expansion of the global audio streaming market,” said 7digital CEO Paul Langworthy. “With the growth of streaming services clustered around the $9.99 price point reaching a saturation point, there is a growing opportunity in the market for niche offerings that differentiate themselves by characteristics such as access, format, curation, geography, or genre. In addition, as global smartphone usage continues to rise, particularly in emerging markets, we are thrilled to support the development of services that allow more music to be consumed around the world.”
7digital almost went into administration last year but has been undergoing a turnaround strategy under new chairman Tamir Koch and Langworthy, appointed as CEO last July.
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