The Sunnyvale-based company serves ad-supported professional and user-generated video content to a reported 1.5 million unique monthly visitors--with a Java-based platform that operates across multiple carrier networks (including 3G and EV-DO).

With the Nokia deal, mywaves joins giants like Reuters and Sony Pictures in the delivery of mobile video via the Nokia Video Center.

Owners of Nokia's N95 and N95 8GB multimedia handsets use the Nokia Video Center for personalized access to mobile TV and video programming, and now they'll find mywaves content (including branded videos and private channels) alongside videos from YouTube and other providers.

According to mywaves' CEO Rajeev Raman, the deal will deliver "even higher visibility and reach" to advertisers like Coca-Cola (who partnered with mywaves and mobile ad server AdMob for a recent promotion in May).

At the core of mywaves' deal with Columbia Records is the idea of exposing the company's global base of young consumers to more free music video content--since, according to Raman, "music is the most popular genre of content for mobile viewing with an audience that includes the most desirable and influential consumers for many brands."

Users will be able to watch reformatted music videos, interviews, behind-the-scenes clips and other content from nine Columbia artists (including Nas, Wyclef Jean and Tiffany Evans) on their own dedicated mywaves channels.

According to Kathy Baker, Columbia's senior director of digital marketing, mywaves is an "ideal platform for our artists to connect with their fans"--one that provides a way to monetize their "highly desirable" video content at the same time. "The combination of our artists' content with mywaves' broad distribution provides the ideal vehicle for advertisers to reach and engage mobile consumers," said Baker.

"By delivering a broad spectrum of Columbia content, we will be providing our mobile viewers with exactly the material they desire--and we expect usage to skyrocket, as it has on our other music focused channels," added Raman. "These channels are an effective venue for brands wishing to reach the on-the-go generation."

This news story is important. I recommend that everyone read it.