A mobile content company backed by New Zealand money has launched in the United Kingdom by announcing an international mobile content competion.
Voeveo is an online solution for people in the web environment who want to sell mobile phone content (audio, images, games, videos, films, software) directly to buyers.
“We believe in empowering independent artists to create and sell directly to their community,” says Annabel Youens, Director Community.
The voeveo incubator competition invites musicians, graphic artists, game and application designers to submit their entries. The community will vote for the best and the winners receive mentorships with some of brightest minds in the digital space.
Aardvark Records is sponsoring the prize. Alex di Savoia, head of communications says, voeveo provides Aardvaark with a direct channel to the global mobile market for its artists’ music.
Under the voeveo model, buyers and sellers conduct business on their own terms and conditions. According to the company’s website, nearly 6,000 independent sellers from over 20 countries have uploaded 60,000 multimedia items for sale to date.
Voeveo is owned by TradeMobile Limited, a private company registered in the United Kingdom and New Zealand.
Several senior New Zealand business people are behind the concept. The chairman and chief financial officer is David Mace, one-time senior partner of Wilkinson, Christmas & Steen, the predecessor firm to Ernst & Young. In the 1980s, Mace was appointed liquidator of the Carrian Group, which at that time was the largest corporate collapse in the world.
In 1997 he was appointed a commissioner of the United Nations Compensation Committee, reporting to the Security Council of the United Nations based in Switzerland.
He currently consults in New Zealand and Hong Kong, advising large corporations on their Asian strategy, and promoting business between the countries in both directions.
The chief executive is Maurice Stillwell, previously sector manager — Beachheads, for New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, managing the international programme.
He has also held the position of CEO for National Communication Services Limited (NCS), where he managed the inception and development of a $20 million telecommunications infrastructure and services business, subsequently sold to Datacraft.