Melodeo said today that it has hired Dave Dederer, the founding member of Seattle-based rock band The Presidents of the United States of America.

Dederer will join the Seattle company as the senior director of media content.

Dederer's job will be to incorporate more music into Melodeo's mobile podcasting and radio service called Mobilcast.

The Mobilcast service is currently available to 43 million wireless customers in North America and in the U.K. through deals with Cingular Wireless, Alltel Wireless, Rogers Wireless and British wireless operator 3.

"This is an extension of what I've tried to do as a musician, which is to help people tap into the transformative power of music," said Dederer. "Mobilcast is a great platform for enabling people to access music they already love and to discover new music. I'm thrilled at this opportunity."

Dederer has always shown an interest in using new technology to promote the band. Previously, The Presidents had hooked up with now defunct Seattle-based Dwango Wireless to sell ringtones through Dwango's partnership with Rolling Stone magazine.

"There was very little money involved," Dederer said, but the relationship got The Presidents a valuable full-page ad in Rolling Stone a couple of issues back. "I'm all for it," he said.

Jim Billmaier, Melodeo CEO, said he thinks Dederer will bring a lot to the table.

"He has a tremendous base of experience and contacts from many years of running the Presidents' business, and those will be assets to Melodeo as we look to expand the music content offered in Mobilcast."

Check out a podcast that Dederer created based on his recent hiring here.