video transcript

Moshi Mania hits London as fans of the kid's social gaming community Moshi Monsters attend a launch party at London's Hard Rock Cafe to hear songs sung by oversize plush toys. Sony Music has joined forces with Mind Candy, the company behind Moshi Monsters to release a 12 track album called Moshi Monsters Music Rox. Michael Acton Smith is the British entrepreneur behind the brand. SOUNDBITE: Michael Acton-Smith, CEO of Mind Candy and founder of Moshi Monsters, saying (English): "I may never become a rock star playing at Wembley but the next best thing is creating a Moshi music album and enjoying the fun we're having here tonight." Started as an online game in 2008, Moshi Monsters is increasingly looking to extend its reach into physical goods such as books, magazines and soft toys. In a recent story in the UK edition of Wired Magazine, investor Saul Klein likened Acton-Smith to Walt Disney, saying "I call him Walt 2.0 He has the passion to build a Disney for the 21st century." SOUNDBITE: Michael Acton-Smith, CEO of Mind Candy and founder of Moshi Monsters, saying (English): "The way entertainment was created in the past, so for many decades was a film or a TV show at the heart and everything flows from that and we think the big bet we're making at Mind Candy is that a future massive franchises entertainment brands will start with a digital heart, as a mobile game like Angry Birds and an online world like Moshi Monsters and then once you've got tens of millions of fans, then you expand into other areas." With songs like Moptop TweenyBop and Sweet tooth stomp, Moshi Monsters' foray into music is clearly aimed at a certain demographic. But with nearly 60 million users already signed up to the Moshi Monster online community, Acton Smith is betting there'll still be enough interest to turn the album into a monster hit. Hayley Platt, Reuters.