TORONTO – With so much same-ness in the channel lineups of competing providers like satellite and cable, carriers are looking for original ways to offer a point of difference to customers – and potential customers.
Bell Canada, in partnership with Universal Music Canada, revealed one today by taking the wrapper off a nifty new product: Live @ the Orange Lounge, an exclusive mix of technology and original live music content. Fans can now watch and listen to a favourite Universal artist whenever, wherever and however they want.
And this is probably just the first of many other new content deals Bell has in the pipeline, Charlotte Burke (right), president, Bell Sympatico, told www.cartt.ca.
Live @ the Orange Lounge from Bell offers music recording session content from over 20 artists across all of its consumer product lines including Sympatico, ExpressVu (in high definition, too) and Mobility (ring tones).
Each week, a new Universal artist will be featured at the Live @ The Orange Lounge, giving the audience an inside look at the recording process, including interviews with the artists and shots in and around the Orange studio, located in Toronto.
At the press conference in Toronto today, which featured recording artist Divine Brown (the first singer to headline the new service, starring her #1 song Old Skool Love), the Lounge set and camera motion brought back memories of MTV’s Unplugged – except without the audience.
The Bell-Universal partnership is the “first of its kind in Canada, offering fans unparalleled access to their favourite artists using Bell technology," said Burke. "The Orange sessions are available on digital television in High Definition, on the Internet with webcasts and downloadable music, and on mobile phones with the coolest new True Tones."
When asked by www.cartt.ca after the conference if this is just the tip of the original content iceberg, and could this extend to other music labels and broadened into comedy shows for example, Burke added: “Absolutely… we’re doing this across many genres.”
And, once Bell’s MobiTV (video to mobile phones) service is ready, look for this content to be pushed to handsets, too, once the technology is ready to support it, said Burke.
Other artists coming up include Jann Arden, The Marble Index and David Usher. Already recorded Live @ The Orange Lounge sessions include Jack Johnson, Jimmy Eat World, Snow Patrol, Cowboy Junkies and Sarah Harmer. 
"Live @ The Orange Lounge is a unique musical experience that gives the Canadian music fan an exclusive opportunity to see Universal recording artists in an intimate live setting," added Randy Lennox (right), president and CEO, Universal Music Canada. "Universal Music Canada couldn’t be happier to be joining forces with Bell Canada to bring the Canadian music consumers exciting and original content."
The cost for existing ExpressVu or Sympatico customers is $0. Mobility customers will have to pay for the ring tones, however.
Click here for an online look.
– Greg O’Brien
