Aspiro Music: WiMP – Scandinavia’s New Music Service Opens for All in Sweden

Aspiro Music (STO:ASP):

In seven days, music service WiMP opens to everyone in Sweden. The countdown starts at wimpmusic.se today, where users can register to become the first to try WiMP free for 30 days. Through an exclusive cooperation, Telenor customers may access the service today.

WiMP is a music service that puts the artists and the music in the center, focusing really hard on being the best on Scandinavian music, first with news and easy to use.

When WiMP opens for all on March 3rd, all registererd users may try the service without cost for 30 days. Furthermore, Aspiro’s distribution partner Telenor offers its customers a free trial of WiMP for 60 days.

"WiMP will help you quickly and easily find your way among the millions of songs that are available in our music archive. WiMP is also customized for the Swedish market, so that it reflects what is happening in Sweden and the music Swedish listeners are interested in. We are extremely pleased to offer WiMP to all Swedes, Norwegians and Danes”, says Gunnar Sellæg, CEO of Aspiro. WiMP differentiates itself from other music streaming services through its strong editorial profile, with local editors selecting and recommending songs, albums, artists, and creating fun and relevant playlists. WiMP also collaborates with artists offering special versions and tracks exclusively available for its users. With smart features WiMP guides users to music, and inspires them to explore both old and new favorites. WiMP makes music fun again! WiMP is a paid service that costs 99 kronor a month. By being a pure payment service, WiMP contributes financially to artists, record labels and rights holders and helps to create a sustainable music industry. This ensures that WiMP’s music catalogue will always be extensive and deep.

"It is a delight to work with Aspiro Music, they always aim to be at the forefront of the market, by responding quickly to new music and tailoring their offering to local preferences. Their easy-to-use service and strong editorial content means their service is a powerful promotional and commercial tool for our artists”, says Jacob Key, Vice President, Commercial Strategy & Business Development, Warner Music Nordic.

"Universal Music welcomes WiMP to Sweden. Aspiro, with their long experience from the music business and successful launch in Norway, has great potential for success in Sweden as well. The Swedish digital music market has seen explosive growth over the last few years and there is an obvious need for additional high quality services. Aspiro’s clear focus on local repertoire is of course also very welcome, as we are focusing even more resources on our Swedish artists”, says Mattias Tengblad, Commercial Director of Universal Music.

"EMI and Aspiro have long had a very close and successful cooperation in the Nordics. The launch of WiMP in Denmark and Norway has very clearly shown the strength in the cooperation and in music streaming. It is extremely gratifying that WiMP now also launches in Sweden, and fits excellent into EMI’s efforts to bring together artists and their fans. WiMPs focus on Scandinavian music, their local editors and pioneering client sets new standards for music consumption”, says Paul Stuart, VP Commercial Nordic, EMI Music Nordic.

"We are strongly positive to a Swedish launch of music service WiMP. We see that more and more consumers become interested in so called access-based music services. With a strong focus on editorial content and Swedish music, we believe that WiMP will be an interesting alternative to the services already on the market today”, says Jacob Herbst at Sony Music.

”At Stim, we are happy that Sweden gets a new streaming service! WiMP has fun play lists where you get great tips for new music. It is also very clear to us that WiMP wants to lift Scandinavian music, which is especially enjoyable for our Nordic music creators. The royalty WiMP pays to our members helps music to continue living and growing”, says Susanne Bodin, Communication Director at Swedish Performing Rights Society Stim.

”Demand for good music services is high and through our cooperation with Aspiro, we can offer our customers additional high quality content to their mobile and computer. The mobile life style sets high demands on flexibility and access and WiMP in combination with our surf subscription offers matches those demands,” says Georgi Ganev Business Area Manager Consumer, Telenor Sweden. Behind WiMP is stock listed Aspiro, which also delivers music via white label and licensing models (more info below). These services are available in Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Portugal, the US and Canada. Aspiro is planning further launches in 2011. Aspiro cooperates with Telenor as a distribution partner in Sweden, Norway and Denmark. The cooperation includes distribution, marketing and pre-installation of WiMP in future phones. Telenor's Swedish customers will also have the opportunity to try the service free for 60 days.

About Aspiro

Aspiro has a unique position as the world's only supplier of complete streaming services for television and music to partners who want to use their own brand of service. Aspiro has more than ten years experience in mobile technology and retail in Northern Europe and the services delivered to partners worldwide, including Deutsche Telekom, Telefonica O2, Telenor, 3, TeliaSonera, Tele2, BBC, Aftonbladet, mBlox, TVNorge, Entel and VG. Aspiro is listed on the OMX Nordic Exchange in Stockholm. Sales for in 2010 amounted to approximately SEK 266 million and employs around 115 employees. More information is available at www.aspiro.com

This information was brought to you by Cision http://www.cisionwire.com