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EMI WAP Portal Sells Direct-2-Consumer

Bango is powering the newly launched EMI Music UK mobile portal, enabling the music giant to sell its content direct-to-consumer...

Bango's 'browse and buy' technology is powering EMI Music UK's mobile music portal, wap.the-raft.com, launched on 13 December as the record company extends 'The Raft' online music brand from web to mobile.

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Using Bango's Txt Trigger, consumers text 'GO RAFT' to 85080 (free text from all UK networks) or visit wap.the-raft.com to browse a huge array of official, artist approved content especially tailored for mobile.

Bango's 'browse and buy' technology enables The Raft's mobile portal to provide a state of the art user experience and easy customer purchase of paid for content. Users anywhere in the world pay for EMI music and ringtones on their phone bill, by credit/debit card or by PayPal. Built and hosted by New-Visions, content on the Raft's mobile portal includes news, ringtones, realtones, remixable tones, tour information, images and competitions across a broad range of music genres and artists.

WAP and web communities interlinked

To stay fresh and dynamic, wap.the-raft.com includes topical special features kicking off with Christmas realtones and ringtones plus an 'Essential tracks of 2005' selection when it launches on December 16th, 2005. The site will be promoted via the music community website www.the-raft.com, by mailshot to over 300,000 subscribers, to The Raft online and by search and banner advertising.

EMI Music UK is the latest music label to choose Bango to power its mobile content portal as Bango already powers official mobile content portals from Universal Music and Sony BMG for artists such as Oasis, Girls Aloud, McFly and Westlife.

"We care passionately about giving our customers great content and a good user experience," commented Danny Van Emden, Digital Media Director at EMI Music UK. "We want to move away from single-shot text-based purchasing of content as people can be unsure whether they have inadvertently signed up for a subscription service.

"Taking people into our own the-raft.com mobile portal means that they are in control. They can browse through our great range of content, including many niche areas outside of the UK top 40 such as classical, jazz and comedy that might be hard to find on network portals and then buy and download straight to their phone in a much simpler way." In contrast to subscription services, Bango's 'browse and buy' technology provides a safer way for users to buy mobile content.

Mobile commerce cuts out the middleman

Martin Harris, Vice President of Sales at Bango said, "People will visit the Raft.com mobile portal as a result of EMI's own marketing or by searching from a mobile search engine such as Yahoo! or Google. By choosing Bango's 'browse and buy' technology, EMI is ensuring people who browse into the mobile portal can then buy without first having to send a text message."

Bango technology enables content discovery, identification so content providers can customize the user experience, and payment. During 2005, Bango has experienced rapid growth in the number of people using the Bango Service from different corners of the world. Content was purchased through the Bango Service from 102 different countries in September 2005 from as far afield as South Africa and Taiwan using over 250 different operator networks.

About Bango:
Bango (AIM: BGO) has developed and deployed an open, global infrastructure platform that enables content providers to market, sell and deliver their products and services directly to mobile phone users on all mobile networks using the mobile Internet. This "direct-to-consumer" approach operates alongside the mobile operator's mobile content portals. Leading mobile operators including Cingular Wireless, Vodafone, Orange, Telefonica and O2 work with Bango to accelerate the growth of their "direct-to-consumer" business. www.bango.com

About EMI Music UK:
EMI Music was the first major record company to establish a dedicated Digital Media division in 1998. The division, headed up by Digital Media Director anny Van Emden, is responsible for the digital activity of EMI Music UK and Ireland and its individual music labels. In addition, each of EMI Music's record labels - EMI Records, Innocent, Parlophone, Virgin and the catalogue division - has a Digital Media Manager responsible for developing artist specific new media opportunities, promotions and web presence. The division is also responsible for the EMI Music aggregate site, www.the-raft.com and mobile portal wap.the-raft.com. The website has been running for 11 years and won multiple awards.