Thumbplay News

-- Traasdahl Concentrating on Corporate Development as

Schwartz Takes Day-to-Day Reins and Drives Consumer Launch of Thumbplay Music App –

NEW YORK 16 -- December 2009 -- Following five years of growth, innovation and setting new standards for customer service, Thumbplay’s Founder and CEO Are Traasdahl will now serve as Chairman. Traasdahl will concentrate on Thumbplay’s long-term corporate development, a role he has been transitioning to over the past few months.

Co-Founder and Chief Marketing Officer Evan Schwartz has been promoted to CEO, effective immediately. Schwartz will oversee all day-to-day operations for the company, including the launch of the new Thumbplay Music application. The company has achieved sustained profitability, with sales of full track music and other advanced content driving the growth.

Thumbplay Board Member Eric Hippeau commented, “We are extremely pleased to elevate Are to Chairman and Evan to CEO. Both have demonstrated tremendous leadership skills as they’ve grown Thumbplay into the leading mobile entertainment service in the U.S. Evan’s 14-plus years of online music experience and his deft marketing prowess make him ideally suited to continue to grow the business and steer the company through the launch of the company’s exciting new music and video products for Smartphones.”

Traasdahl said, “Having seen Thumbplay through its inception and its incredible growth to-date, I’m looking forward to concentrating on big picture development from the perspective of a board member and Chairman. With a focus on long-range growth opportunities, I will continue to help Thumbplay achieve its rightful place as the leading mobile entertainment company. The terrific successes we’ve achieved so far give us a great foundation and I have every confidence that with the extraordinary stewardship of Evan and the talented team at Thumbplay, we will achieve all we’ve set out to do and more.”

Remarked Schwartz: “I’m honored to assume the leadership role at Thumbplay, particularly at such a pivotal time for the entertainment industry. Are and I set out with some pretty ambitious goals, and I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished so far. With the advent of Smartphones, the music and video services we have been dreaming about for the last 10 years are finally possible and consumers are ready for them. Moving forward with Scott Marshall, our COO/CFO at my side, and the rest of our great team, we are well-positioned for the future.”

The company launches Thumbplay Music, an application which provides anytime-anywhere access to digital music via Smartphones and computers, to a wide consumer audience early in 2010.

Thumbplay is the leading mobile entertainment service in the U.S., offering personalization content for more than 250 million mobile customers. Its direct-to-consumer service is accessible on more than 2,500 mobile devices among every major carrier in the U.S.

Headquartered in New York City, Thumbplay, Inc. was founded in September 2004 by Are Traasdahl and Evan Schwartz. Investors include Bain Capital Ventures, SoftBank Capital, i-Hatch Ventures, Redwood Partners, New Enterprise Associates, Meritech, Brookside Capital Partners and Cross Creek Capital.

ABOUT THUMBPLAY

Thumbplay’s award-winning, direct-to-consumer mobile entertainment service features licensed content from some of the world’s largest entertainment companies, including EMI Music, Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group, 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. 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. More information can be found at www.thumbplay.com or at m.thumbplay.com from a mobile phone.

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Labels: press, press-release

posted by BusTed Love at 11:38 AM

Pre-Eminent Customer Service Organization Recognizes Thumbplay, the Leading Mobile Entertainment Provider in the U.S.

NEW YORK — December 2, 2009 — Michael Biondo, Vice President of Customer Service for Thumbplay, the leading mobile entertainment destination in the U.S., has been named Customer Service Executive of the Year by the Customer Service Institute of America (CSIA) . The awards are presented from the International Council of Customer Service Organizations though the CSIA. The International Service Excellence Awards are recognized as the most prestigious awards within the customer service industry. Previous CSIA award winners in this category include Sheila Harrell of FedEx, and Jane Judd of Zappos.com.

Biondo, who has been at Thumbplay since 2006, is responsible for ensuring that Thumbplay customers receive an extraordinary level of service. He oversees all of the touch points for Thumbplay’s 365-day-a-year customer service -- including phone, e-mail and live chat services – giving people multiple, convenient ways to reach Thumbplay and receive swift assistance. Biondo instills a solution-oriented culture of respect for anyone who contacts the company. This unwavering dedication to the customer is behind his recognition from the CSIA.

“Our top priority at Thumbplay has always been to deliver a positive customer experience,” says Evan Schwartz, Thumbplay Co-Founder and Chief Marketing Officer. “Under Michael’s stewardship, we have developed a number of innovative and highly-personal ways to communicate with people. Of course, the best measure we have of our success is the customers themselves. We consistently get terrific feedback from them, whether it is about the best way to download music to their Smartphones, or how to set the ideal resolution to play videos on their devices. I am thrilled that the CSIA agrees with our customers and is recognizing Michael’s outstanding achievements with this prestigious honor.”

“Our judges were exposed to some exceptional approaches to creating outstanding customer experiences and are always pleased to see the customer service profession receive the attention and accolades it deserves for contributing to the customer experience as well as an organization’s bottom line,” says Brett Whitford, Secretary-General, International Council of Customer Service Organizations. “This year’s award winners have demonstrated that they are leaders in customer service and are worthy of our top awards.”

The Customer Service Institute of America (CSIA) is the body delegated by International Council of Customer Service Organizations (ICCSO) to manage the 2009 International Service Excellence Awards. These awards are the world’s peak customer service awards with leading customer service organizations and individuals around the globe being nominated in a variety in categories to recognize their commitment to customer service excellence. These awards are sought after by government, not-for-profit and for-profit organizations of all sizes and across all industries globally.

ABOUT THUMBPLAY

Thumbplay’s award-winning, direct-to-consumer mobile entertainment service features licensed content from some of the world’s largest entertainment companies, including EMI Music, Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group, 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. 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. More information can be found at www.thumbplay.com or at m.thumbplay.com from a mobile phone.

ABOUT CSIA

The Customer Service Institute of America (CSIA) provides organizations with education, certification and recognition in the field of customer service. CSIA is the professional body of choice for customer service leaders seeking professional recognition through the attainment of internationally recognized industry qualifications, certifications and awards.

CSIA is the US Representative body on the International Council of Customer Service Organizations (ICCSO) and had the honor of hosting the 2008 International Service Excellence Awards™ at the NACCM on November 17th, 2008. Judged using the International Customer Service Standard criteria, these awards are the world’s peak customer service awards. Leading customer service organizations and individuals around the globe are nominated in a variety in categories to recognize their commitment customer service excellence. www.serviceinstitute.com

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Labels: press-release

posted by BusTed Love at 8:37 AM