Thumbplay wrangles $6M for mobile content distribution

Thumbplay, provider of ringtones, wallpapers, games and other content specifically tailored to mobile phones, announced that it brought in $6 million in a sixth round of funding to cushion its business against the downturn. Based in New York, the company says that with the funds, it should find itself poised to expand rapidly once the slump ends sometime next year.

Not that Thumplay isn’t already pretty well positioned to take advantage of the opportunities that do exist in the market. In the past, it has benefited from sizable rounds of capital — $40 million raised to date — and valuable partnerships with brands like Facebook, AOL, Sony and wireless carriers like AT&T and Verizon.

At the same time, it has weathered some legal entanglements in the past year, and is still dealing with allegations that it charges some users for unwanted mobile content. According to the suit, the company has no checks and safeguards built into its billing system to prevent unauthorized charges.

Thumbplay also offers MP3s, video clips and other forms of mobile entertainment. It competes with other mobile content aggregators like Zed and GetJar.

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