Thumbplay News

NEW YORK – December 11, 2008 – Thumbplay (www.thumbplay.com) – the #1 mobile entertainment destination in the U.S. – and Billboard – the world’s premier music brand – today announced that they have joined forces to offer Billboard.com visitors direct access to Thumbplay’s extensive catalog.

Links to mobile music previews and downloads, available exclusively from Thumbplay.com, will be available on all chart and artist pages throughout the Billboard.com site, effective immediately. Whether you are checking out the latest Hot 100 chart where TI’s “Live Your Life” is #1, a historical chart from 1979 where The Knack’s “My Sharona” is #1 or Zac Brown Band’s #1 Country Song “Chicken Fried,” Thumbplay has you covered. Thumbplay’s unparalleled content library has something to please everyone.

“Thumbplay is thrilled to be a part of this partnership,” said Are Traasdahl, CEO and Founder of Thumbplay. “Obviously, Billboard.com is a must-visit online destination for music enthusiasts and, through access to all of our chart-topping artists, we give them a chance to take that experience with them on their mobile phones.”

Billboard Publisher Howard Appelbaum added, “As the authoritative source for music fans, it’s our goal to provide our readers with the deepest possible connection to their music. As of today, with Thumbplay’s extensive library and exceptional service, Billboard.com will deliver the instant gratification fans demand.”

Featuring music, videos, games and more, Thumbplay’s extensive and ever-growing entertainment library is accessible on more than 2,000 mobile phones among every major carrier in the U.S. The company has maintained and grown its leadership position by delivering an optimal user experience, which includes its live, “24/7/365,” customer service and an unparalleled catalog of entertainment options.


ABOUT THUMBPLAY
Thumbplay’s award-winning, direct-to-consumer service features licensed content from some of the world’s largest entertainment companies, including EMI Music, Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group and Sony Pictures Television, as well as several independent labels and artists and video game companies. Thumbplay’s mobile entertainment catalog is integrated into Clear Channel Radio, AOL and MSN Mobile sites, as well as iLike.com, one of the Web’s leading social music discovery services. Moreover, based on Thumbplay’s reputation for exceptional customer care and technological innovation, MTV recently tapped the company to power personalization content for the music giant’s mobile content site. The recently-launched Thumbplay Open provides independent music and visual artists, application developers and Web site publishers the opportunity to package and sell their own digital media to millions of mobile customers. Each month, Thumbplay.com gets more than five million unique visitors and its mobile (WAP) site (m.thumbplay.com) receives more than 12 million page views, making it one of the most popular mobile Web sites.

Headquartered in New York City, Thumbplay was founded in September 2004 by Are Traasdahl and Evan Schwartz. It is backed by Bain Capital Ventures, SoftBank Capital, i-Hatch Ventures, Redwood Partners, New Enterprise Associates, Meritech, Brookside Capital Partners and Cross Creek Capital. More information can be found at www.thumbplay.com or at m.thumbplay.com from a mobile phone.

ABOUT BILLBOARDNow in its 114th year, Billboard is the world's premier weekly music publication and a diverse digital, events, brand, content and data licensing platform. Billboard publishes the most trusted charts and offers unrivaled reporting about the latest music, video, gaming, media, digital and mobile entertainment issues and trends. Billboard magazine is the flagship property for the brand, which also consists of Billboard.biz, Billboard.com, Billboard en Español, Billboard Chart Alert, Billboard Information Network (BIN), Billboard Directories, Billboard Books, and Billboard Licensing & Events. Billboard’s many strategic partners include Microsoft, Reuters, Sirius Satellite Radio, Telemundo, ABC Radio Networks, AT&T, Sandisk and Billboard sister companies Nielsen SoundScan and Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems. These partnerships leverage Billboard’s proprietary data, charts and information resources to develop broadcast entertainment, digital and mobile platforms and contextual commerce applications that expand Billboard’s franchise and consumer reach. Billboard is published by the Entertainment Group at Nielsen Business Media, a part of The Nielsen Company, a global information and media company.

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