Southern Cross Austereo enters music streaming space with Songl owner DMD
Southern Cross Austereo is the latest radio company to enter the music streaming space with a deal with Digital Music Distribution, the owner of Songl.
The deal sees SCA become an equal shareholder of DMD with music giants Universal Music Australia and Sony Music Australia.
The DMD joint venture was originally created by the two music labels to provide digital music services to the public, broadcasters and brands.
The news comes as DMD gears up to launch music streaming service Songl in Australia, to take on the likes of Rdio and Spotify.
Commenting on the partnership, DMD’s CEO Mark Shaw, the ex-Sensis Digital Media GM, who joined the company earlier this year, told Mumbrella: “It’s a huge opportunity to fast track our plans in Australia; to work with the largest entertainment company across radio, TV and online and the opportunity to work with their talent.”
“We are really working closely with them to use their assets and match them to our distribution business. Southern Cross Austereo has had the vision and foresight to look ahead and add experience to their current audiences and attract new ones.”
DMD currently services Foxtel with 29 music channels as well as providing content to Satellite Music Australia for their hotel and club service and various retail outlets.
Rhys Holleran, SCA’s CEO said in a statement: “We are delighted to be able to enhance music and entertainment experiences for our audiences and introduce even more innovative solutions for our customers. We have long and successful relationships with both Sony and Universal through our national radio network which has been the catalyst for us all to join forces through DMD to deliver what we plan to be Australia’s best digital music entertainment experiences.”
Last week saw ARN team up with digital service iHeartRadio while in August DMG and Rdio joined forces.
Shaw said that the DMD-Southern Cross Australia deal would give the consumer an experience not seen on any platform.
DMD has plans to launch Songl through strategy agency Slingshot, with creative input from Monty Noble, who recently launched his own agency.
This year has seen a big growth in music streaming services in Australia. The music streaming debate at Mumbrella360 was one of the most anticipated sessions of the conference.
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