Back to Popkomm, and phone firm 3 used the music biz conference to confirm a new alliance with independent music aggregator The Orchard which will see the mobile network licence music, video, and mastertone content from The Orchard's vast catalogue of independent music.
Confirming the deal, 3 UK Marketing Director, John Penberthy-Smith, told reporters: "We love music at 3. We are strong believers in delivering the widest possible range of content to our customers. Our partnership with The Orchard means we have expanded our music service even more. With this we will continue to have the most comprehensive mobile music service on the market".
The Orchard chief Greg Scholl, meanwhile, added: "3 knows that independent music is a crucial part of providing customers with music discovery and catalogue depth. As the only independent music distributor 3 has licensed directly, we appreciate 3's commitment to work with us and bring important non-mainstream music to UK customers".