MUMBAI: Sony Ericsson announced deals with 10 major record labels at the MIDEM conference in Cannes, adding over five million new tracks to its catalogue.

The company unveiled the next stage in the evolution of PlayNow arena, its over-the-air (OTA) download service. Sony Ericsson also unveiled the design and URL for PlayNow arena and launched PlayNow Uncut, (formerly M-Buzz) a music promotional space for new, unsigned and developing artists.

Sony Ericsson announced partnerships with 10 of the largest international and regional music labels including Sony BMG, Warner Music Group, EMI, The Orchard, IODA, The PocketGroup, Hungama, X5 Music, Bonnier Amigo and VidZone, adding over five million new tracks to its PlayNow arena.

Sony Ericsson is currently negotiating further deals with a host of regional labels to further broaden the variety of music available and bring a wealth of localised content direct to the consumer.

Speaking at the Sony Ericsson event at MIDEM in Cannes, Sony Ericsson executive vice president Anders Runevad presented the enhanced PlayNow arena service and emphasized the importance of industry partnerships delivering digital content and an unparalleled multimedia experience.

He said, “we are delighted to announce deals with such high calibre record labels. This will help realise our vision for PlayNow arena as a service that will be developed in collaboration with our partners. Our commitment is to work with the industry to ensure we are building an experience-based and intuitive content delivery platform, enabling the development of an ecosystem that provides a unique experience for the consumer and a business model where everybody prospers.”

With mobile games remaining a key focus, Sony Ericsson has also added 250 new games through existing deals with leading games manufactures such as EA Games, Gameloft, THQ, Glu, Digital Chocolate and I-Play.