Kyte upgrades platform for mobile rich media content

By Giselle Abramovich

March 11, 2008

Kyte is already working with artists such as rapper 50 Cent

Kyte has launched the Kyte Premium Player to let artists and fans communicate directly, buy and sell merchandise and share multimedia content in real-time using a webcam or a mobile phone.

Kyte’s updates to its social communications platform are designed to enable artists to monetize their brand and grow their audience during a time when the music industry is suffering from declining album sales.

“The music industry is in a time of struggle and looking for new ways to turn artists into brands,” said Gannon Hall, chief marketing officer of Kyte, San Francisco. “The premium player is a Flash-based super widget primarily used online and the mobile Web application allows users to view and interact with rich media content while on-the-go.”

Kyte is already working with rapper 50 Cent. 

Artists can use the Kyte Platform to broadcast mobile video in real-time to multiple online and mobile destinations. Rapper 50 Cent is said to be already receiving millions of show views and massive viral content distribution across thousands of Web sites.

The Kyte Premium Player helps convert passive viewers to active participants with real-time, two-way communication.

Kyte’s social communications platform features live video streaming, multimedia chat, production tools and immediate distribution across the Web, mobile and IPTV.

“Our platform is pretty robust because we have the Web and mobile exposure,” Mr. Hall said. “Artists embed the Ktye player on their site and when they are on the road can stream video to his or her fans.

“The fans can imbed the kyte player on their own sites and artists can get updates from them as well,’ Mr. Hall said. “They can also interact with and view the channel for content and chat, text or get alerts from the artist and from their friends. It’s a full social mobile platform.”

The Kyte Premium Player can be delivered as a custom-branded Facebook application, allowing artists to connect with fans and deliver a self-contained media experience to one of the most popular social networks on the Web.

The Kyte Premium Facebook application is a branded social communications platform, featuring live video streaming, multimedia chat, viral distribution capabilities and monetization opportunities.

“Mobile brings to artists the ability to reach and connect with their audience,” Mr. Hall said. “It unfetters fans from their computers.”

New funding
On a separate note, Kyte has closed its Series B funding, raising a total of $21.1 million after securing additional investments from Steamboat Ventures, a venture capital firm affiliated with Walt Disney Co., and Intellect Capital Ventures, a venture fund initiative of TeliaSonera managed by Intellect Partners, which is also participating.

 Also participating in this round are Telefónica, Nokia Growth Partners, Swisscom and DoCoMo Capital Inc., as well as Draper Fisher Jurvetson and Holtzbrinck Ventures, the investment arm of one of Europe’s leading media conglomerates.

With these strategic investments and partner relationships, Kyte is building a social communications ecosystem on a global scale with vast viral distribution and monetization potential.

In addition, by working closely with artists and mobile carriers, Kyte is furthering its reach and expansion into media and entertainment, the company said in a statement.