Motorola acquires Soundbuzz, invests in m-payment

Motorola announced a definitive agreement to acquire privately held pan-Asian music provider Soundbuzz, enabling the handset maker to expand its MOTOMUSIC service beyond China into the India, Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand markets. Financial terms of the deal, which was expected to close in the first quarter, were not disclosed. Singapore-based Soundbuzz's end-to-end, multi-region music delivery platform enables sales and distribution of digital content via over-the-air and broadband connections, complete with subscriber management and content management tools as well as payment, client software and media delivery technologies. Soundbuzz content partners include Sony BMG, EMI, Warner Music International and Universal Music Group alongside more than 45 independent record labels in Asia, the U.S. and Europe. Soundbuzz also boasts operator deals with Hutchison 3, Airtel, SingTel and Telstra.

Motorola also announced a strategic investment in Inside Contactless, which develops contactless payment chips and near field communications technologies enabling secure applications for payment, ticketing and interactive advertising on mobile devices. The announcement follows on the heels of similar Motorola investments in m-commerce firms VivOTech and mFoundry.

For more on the Motorola/Soundbuzz deal:
-read this release

For more on the Inside Contactless investment:
-read this release

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