Groove Mobile, the global mobile music commerce service provider, has partnered with Universal Music U.K., to build and operate an innovative off-portal mobile music store.

The partnership will enable U.K. mobile phone users on any U.K. wireless carrier to have instant access to full track downloads from Universal Music U.K.’s catalogue via SMS short codes from their mobile phones.

Rob Wells, senior vice president, Digital, for Universal Music Group International (UMGI) believes Groove Mobile shares their commitment to drive the international digital music business forward through off-portal innovations that deliver mobile music to larger audiences.

Wells said that they are enthusiastic about the prospect of bringing their talented artists direct to consumers using SMS short codes in partnership with Groove Mobile.

Groove Mobile and Universal Music U.K. will now bring the top hits to wireless customers who send short code messages to Universal Music U.K. artists’ WAP stores.

“Universal Music U.K. is leveraging the Groove Mobile platform which runs on a majority of the world's music phones in order to provide consumers with the robust downloads they have come to expect when using today's 3G networks,” said Adam Sexton, chief marketing officer of Groove Mobile in a press release.

He continued: “We are proud to partner with Universal Music U.K. and share their commitment to leadership in digital music by bringing mobile phone users in the U.K. the hottest music through off-portal innovations across multiple carriers.”

Powered by Groove Mobile, the Universal Music U.K. Music Store will feature full track music downloads from the Universal Music catalogue of top artists, including Take That, Razorlight, Scissor Sisters, the Killers, Mika, James Morrison and Keane (News - Alert).

Additionally, U.K. mobile phone customers who send code messages will receive links to download full tracks directly to their mobile handsets.

Universal Music Group is a music company with wholly owned record operations or licensees in 75 countries. Its businesses also include Universal Music Publishing Group, one of the industry’s largest global music publishing operations. Universal Music Group International is the division that manages UMG's businesses in countries outside of North America.

Groove Mobile is the global mobile music service provider. Groove Mobile's Complete Music Gateway (News - Alert) includes Full Track Mobile Downloads, Peer-to-Peer Sharing and Personalized Music Recommendations, in addition to providing Personalized and Programmed Streaming Radio, Music Subscriptions, and more.

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Anuradha Shukla is a contributing editor for TMCnet, covering call centers, CRM and information technology. To see more of her articles, please visit her columnist page.