MUMBAI: Universal Music Group (UMG) will further expand its line-up of direct-to-consumer mobile content and services for music fans through an agreement with mobile publishing platform Netbiscuits.

As part of this agreement, UMG will leverage Netbiscuits market-leading B2B web software platform to launch mobile websites and services for UMG’s broad array of chart-topping artists. By doing so, UMG will be opening up even more channels of content discovery and delivery to music fans everywhere. Through these artist-branded mobile websites, UMG will offer fans the ability to interact with other fans and to make purchases directly from their handset. Based on the mobile websites, Netbiscuits enables UMG to set up hybrid apps for all major platforms, including the iPhone, Android, and Windows Mobile devices.

UMG’s eLabs executive vice president business development & business affairs David Ring said, “Universal is committed to providing consumers with even more engaging interactive opportunities to connect with their favorite artists and music by personalizing their mobile devices. Thanks to the support we are getting from Netbiscuits, we’ll be in an even better position to extend these artist opportunities and products across the widest array of available wireless devices. Through their exclusive technology, we’ll be able to offer consumers truly engaging mobile music experiences, that include the chance to generate their own content, leaving comments, uploading pictures, and chatting with each other via these mobile sites. UMG will continue to lead the way in adopting the latest technology to offer fans the most dynamic interactive musical experiences possible.”

Netbiscuits Inc MD Ran Farmer added, “We’re very excited to help Universal Music mobilizing so many of the world’s most famous music artists. All these artists going mobile means to me that the mobile Web today really is a mass market phenomenon. Adding the right mobile commerce strategies and technologies to the mix finally paves the way for real revenues coming from the mobile channel.”