Mobiles turn into video jukeboxes

A new "video jukebox service" will see full length music videos being beamed to mobile phone handsets, reports the BBC.

"Mobile phone network 3 has joined forces with major record label BMG to offer the service.

The videos will cost £1.50 each and will be available to stream or to download to the handset.

The service, which will offer BMG artists' videos four to six weeks in advance of singles being released, will be launched on 2 August.

3's chief operating officer Gareth Jones said: "From now on, the mobile phone will increasingly become the first place that music lovers will be able to see new music videos."

BBC Radio One presenter Zane Low will also present a weekly music show only available on 3 phones."

In a related article, Revolution Magazine, reports that Britney Spears, Outkast and Dido are amongst the first acts to be screened on third generation network 3's mobile Video Jukebox.

Ring leaders

The meeting of music and telecommunications has become a billion-dollar industry, reports sj-r.com in a well rounded article on the business of ringtones.

"According to a study released earlier this year by London-based analysis firm The Arc Group, ringtones generated global sales of $3.5 billion - roughly 10 percent of the $32.2 billion worldwide music market.

When the technology took off about five years ago, cellular service providers in Asia and Europe dominated the market. According to The Yankee Group, a market-research firm in Boston, American ringtone sales are expected to hit $140 million by year's end.

The drive comes from both the proliferation of teens with cell phones and a music industry watching its CD sales decline. Calie Shackleford, regional public relations manager for Cingular Wireless, says some music labels are seeing more money from ringtones than CD sales.

On average, music companies that license the songs recover 30 percent to 50 percent of the customer cost per ringtone (typically a one-time cost of $1.49 to $1.99 per selection in the United States).

"Ringtones are fundamentally different from other types of music because it's a functional product," says Carolynne Schloeder, president of Modtones, a California-based ringtone provider. "People laugh at ringtones like we're a funky product on the side, but it's a really good business.". Hear, hear!.

Will Carriers Kill The iTunes Phone?

Apple and Motoral took a lot of people by surprise earlier this week by announcing plans to put iTunes on a mobile phone, but they may have left out one very important part: figuring out how the carriers get a cut, according to Mike Masnick for techdirt.

"The wireless carriers are notorious for supporting closed systems, and making sure that they get a cut of any transaction that goes through a mobile phone.

So, now, many analysts are pointing out that for all the hype surrounding the mobile iTunes, there's a good chance carriers won't let it run on their phones, unless they somehow get a cut."

'Ha, Ha' To 'Wish You Were Here': Why Cell Phones Have Killed The Concert Lighter

At virtually any concert nowadays, cell phones have taken the place of cigarette lighters and increasingly, choose to call their friends or family members instead, to share the experience or, in some cases, to goad them, a practive sometimes called "cellcert".

Why? According to an informal survey conducted over two months in and around various New York concert venues, such behaviour stems from a desire to share the experience of the concert.

"Tom Ryan, a mobile-music consultant chalksup the phenomenon to proliferation of camera phones in the past 18 months, and the ability to share what previously couldn't be shared".

A sound recording can be enjoyed at any time," Ryan explained, "but the actual experience of a single concert is a unique, never-to-be-repeated experience. The cell phone enables someone to insert themselves into that experience — like, 'This is me at the Radiohead show.' It's a desire to express yourself at an amazing show, and you're bringing your friends into the concert, even if they could never enjoy it as much as you."

Related article: -- Mobile phones are the new lighters.

Ringtones and Piracy

[ via the Malaysia Star ]. "The MPA estimates the piracy rate in the ringtone space to be 40%. “Most of the content providers have advertisements in the newspapers but do not have the proper licences to sell ringtones. There is only a handphone contact in the newspaper advertisement, with no address, so we can't even send out warning letters,” moaned a source from a local music publishing company. 

Ringtone providers are required to hold the Applications Service Provider Class Licence and that falls under the jurisdiction of the MCMC.

MACP general manager Chan Miew said that the telcos have also agreed to block short message service (SMS) short-codes (a five-digit code used in premium SMS services) if these content providers still refuse to obtain the required MACP licences. “We believe that with the telcos' support, the MACP would be able to license most of these operators,” she said.  

All abuzz over ringtones

What started out as a gimmick for recording companies has become a full-blown trend. Ringtones are a youth fashion statement today, just like blue-jeans in the 1970s, reports the Malaysia Star.

"EMI Malaysia managing director Darren Choy said, “We are seeing a new generation of people who actually buy more ringtones than CDs. It's really puzzling ... if you buy 10 ringtones, you can actually buy an album to last you a lifetime.”  

Ringtones as a fashion statement:

Perhaps it's because you can show off a ringtone but you can't show off “listening to an album in your living room,” suggested Choy. 

While clothes still make the man, your choice of ringtone, may tell as much about your personality as the pair of jeans you just splurged on. People may even size you up based on the type of ringtone you have.   

“We believe that ringtones have added a new dimension of personalisation to mobile communications for our customers. It has allowed them another chance to put their personality onto their mobile device which today has become an extension of who we are,” said Maxis Communications general manager and head of product development and management Karim Abdul Malik.

In Numbers: 

-- Ringtones are the most downloaded type of mobile entertainment content, ranking above Java games, wallpapers and logos, said Maxis. Currently 67% of its subscribers' downloads consist of ringtones.  

-- Maxis, which claims to have nearly five million subscribers out of a total of 12 million handphone users in Malaysia, said that 60% of its ringtone customers downloaded at least two ringtones in the last 12 months.

The ringtone business is now roughly equivalent to 10% of the US$32.2bil (RM122.4bil) global music market.  

Although no official local estimates were available, sources suggest that the ringtone figure in Malaysia is closer to 5% of the local music market, with a ringgit value of RM5mil. "

Chaku-Uta reaches one hundred million song download

Japans KDDI says that its EZ "Chaku-Uta" service achieved the one hundred million song download plateau on July 5, 2004, reports Cellular News.

"Z "Chaku-Uta" is a service which allows artists' songs to be downloaded directly to a mobile phone for use as a ring tone. au surpassed competitors by starting the service in December 2002, made possible using the high-speed communication capabilities of its 3rd generation mobile infrastructure.

Since its introduction, EZ "Chaku-Uta" has continued to improve, adding an AAC codec for improved sound quality and stereo playback. Also, with the cooperation of record companies, au has been able to provide more and more new songs from artists, even before they are released on CD. As a result, EZ "Chaku-Uta" is becoming established as a way to enjoy the latest releases first. An additional service, which allows users to easily download the currently-playing song as a ring-tone, is also offered for au handsets equipped with an FM tuner.

Currently, 134 web-sites support EZ "Chaku-Uta", with a total of over 60,000 songs. All handsets currently on sale by au support the service (as of the end of June 2004, the number of handset subscribers supporting EZ "Chaku-Uta" was 11.16 million)."

More on Chaku-Uta in this special category of Ringtonia.com.

Will Ringtones Lead To Mobilized Apps?

David Haskin for Mobile Pipeline noticed that in in Cingular's latest quarterly financial report was this interesting nugget: The company more than doubled its revenue from wireless data compared to the same quarter a year ago. Most of that revenue growth was from consumer data like downloaded ringtones and text messaging. "But it makes me wonder if history is repeating itself in a way that portends rapid growth of mobilized applications for the enterprise."

[...] "Obviously, it would be silly for enterprises to pay for downloaded ringtones. But once users become used to even trivial cellular data applications such as ringtones, how long will it take before they start expecting, say, customer relationship management software on their mobile devices? My guess is: not long.

That's sort of thing happens when a technology has such obvious benefits that it employees are willing to pay for it themselves. So while a lot of enterprises are piloting mobilized apps and a few have deployed them widely, ringtones and text messaging might be the catalysts that lead to widespread mobilization of enterprise applications".

SK Telecom's Ringback Service Export Topped $ 10m

SK Telecom, the dominant mobile operator of Korea, announced a US$1.5m ring-back tone service contract with Telkomsel, the largest mobile carrier of Indonesia. The contract brought the company's ring back tone service export to more than US$10m. [ Telecoms Korea via MocoNews ]

Motorola, Apple Partner in Cell Phone Deal

Music listeners will soon be able to transfer songs they buy from Apple's iTunes music store to Motorola cell phones, reprots the Associated Press.

"The new service will enable users to transfer songs from their computers to Motorola mobile handsets with a USB port or Bluetooth wireless connection.

The service is expected to become available in the first half of 2005."

See also article by the BBC "Apple and Motorola in music deal".

German Clothier Introduces Wireless Jacket

A new jacket from http://www.rosner.de, a German clothing firm, incorporates a 128-megabyte MP3 player that is controlled through cloth buttons on the left sleeve. Headphones are built into the collar, reports PhillyBurbs.

The jacket also has a hands-free cell phone microphone tucked into the collar, which works with phones on the Bluetooth short-range wireless standard.

Priced at 599 euros ($725), it will be available through the Rosner web site starting in August for delivery in February. "

Experts Available to Discuss Music Features on Mobile Phones

A good tip for journalists looking for insight and understanding of the mobile phone music industry, thanks to Business Wire.

Many mobile phone owners are willing to spend extra for the latest in mobile phone features, including musical ring tones, games and screen decoration or "wallpaper," according to an article by the Philadelphia Daily News. Some of the advanced phones make it possible to download songs and images in MP3 form easily by entering a code into the phone. Some experts predict the business of downloading will grow to $9.7 billion by 2007.

ExpertSource can offer several highly qualified experts to comment on the above.

ExpertSource provides academic and industry experts to the media at no charge. Journalists are encouraged to submit queries to ExpertSource when seeking experts on specific subjects. An online registration form is available at http://www.businesswire.com/ .

How European Teenagers Spend their Allowance

French weekly L'Express, in a study on how European teenagers spend their allowance, says girls spend it on fashion, whereby boys buy video games, but both spend money on their cell phones (for calls and downloads).

TNS Media Intelligence reports that 62% of 11 to 19 year-olds have their own cell phone. compared to 53% in 2002 and they send an average of 60 SMS a month.

In magazines targeted to teenagers, 9 out of 10 advertisements are about selling logos and ringtones.

Mobile Music Polyphonic

Mobile Music Polyphonic is a polyphonic ringtone composition and conversion software with a sheet-music-styled interface. It allows you to convert MIDI files to mobile phone ringtones or compose your own Polyphonic songs.

It supports quite a number of file formats including standard Midi, SP Midi, SMAF format (*.mmf) which can be used polyphonic cellular phones. [PRWeb]

Cool Ringtones Blog

Welcome to Cool Ringtones Blog - covering everything you've ever wanted to know about ringtones. Blog editor Cindy Schmelky (15) from Wayne, Pennsylvania is ringtone fan.

In her own words:

We'll talk about artists, the latest music, technical things like how to download a ringtone to your cell phone, and what's new in the world of ringtones.  Monophonic ringtones, polyphonic ringtones, real ringtones--we'll talk about them all! 

SMS not sent: Hutch told to pay up

Believe it or not, this lawsuit was not filed in America, but in India. via Delhi Newsline.

"In July last year, Gupta tried to download ringtones through his Hutch phone (No. 9811525341). He failed to receive a tone despite sending repeated messages to a four digit number. Although, Hutch is one of the service providers supporting the service, he complained that not only did he not receive the tones but also Hutch deleted Rs 45 from his account.

Hutch filed a reply saying that in such cases, the charges are levied by ringtone providers such Indiatimes and Yahoo and that it cannot be held responsible for deficiency of service on their part. The court, however, dismissed this argument and pointed out that the customer's contract is with the service provider and not with its associates.

The court order Hutch to pay Rs 30,000 ($ 648.-) compensation for mental agony and harassment after it charged one of its customers for undelivered short messages (SMS)".

Telemundo's Content on Cellphones

Telemundo's parent, NBC Universal Entertainment, announced on Wednesday a deal with Versaly Entertainment, a mobile content publisher, to distribute images, logos, music and voices from telenovelas and talk and variety programs via wireless phones. [ via MocoNews ]

Yamaha Offering Cinema Content Website for i-mode Users

Launched on July 20 by Yamaha, MTV Movies features a series of mobile content that is tied closely to movie programs broadcasted by MTV Japan, reports JCN Network.

"The i-mode website offers ring tunes, i-Motion movies, and movie trailers for titles including both old to new ones.

The content service initially features 2,000 ring tunes and 200 songs, and Yamaha adds 40 titles every month. It costs 315 yen ($2.92) per month.

The company is aiming for first-year sales of 100 million yen ($925,926), with a total of 50,000 subscribers."

Ringtones for the caller now

Maxis Malaysia announced a new service, called Caller Ringtones, last week and said it will be for its Hotlink subscribers. The service, currently in trials, will be made available at the end of this month, reports The Star online.

"Karim Abdul Malik, Maxis general manager as well as head of product development and management, said Caller Ringtones is the industry's first “ring back” service.  

Previously, he said, ringtone personalisation has only been about the mobile phone owner. “It is the handphone owner who hears it. Now you can have personalised ringtones for the people calling you.”  

Different types of songs can be assigned to different caller groups. “You can have your parents crooning to oldies, your pals tapping their feet to the latest pop hit or your boss humming to elevator music as they wait,” said Chee Loo Fun, head of prepaid marketing at Maxis. 

“You can also set a specific song for a specific caller on a specific day. Or (you can) surprise a loved one with a sexy birthday greeting. There's even a jukebox feature that plays all the caller ringtones on your playlist randomly.” 

The Caller Ringtones library contains more than 400 recordings. 

Top Mobile Downloads For June

According to Handango, the mobile downloads retailer…the figures are aggregated across more than 100 download portals worldwide… [ via MocoNews ]

Fulll PDF download report here…

AirTel rolls out Ring Back Tone service

Sify reports that AirTel has launched today a Ring Back Tone service in India, which enables the caller to hear songs and other sound clips instead of the traditional switchboard ring tone, and said this value added service will be the next major revenue earner for the brand after SMS.

"AirTel is the first service provider in the country to offer the service, which will be marketed as Hello Tunes. It will be initially available in Delhi and Bangalore in English, Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Punjabi and Kannad along with the latest songs from each of these languages.

The global market for ring back tone service is pegged at around 2.5 billion dollar.

AirTel has launched the service in association with Bharti Telesoft and Korea-based WiderThan.com, an affiliate of S K Telecom."

Phone Perks, Napster-Style

Another story about how users are increasingly getting around the network wall and getting their mobile content and related services from third-party application and services.

"For instance, an avid text messaging fan in Britain who owns a Nokia 6600 can save money by using Fastchat, which provides unlimited text messaging for a flat fee, reports Rafat Ali for MocoNews.

Also, a new product from TDK Systems lets mobile phone users download ring tones and games from their PCs to their phones–all they need is Bluetooth.

In the face of such threats, cell carriers face a tough choice. If they restrict their users from using flexible phones, it could boost profits in the short term while risking the chance that disgruntled customers will flee to another carrier with less restrictive policies."

See related articles.

Ringing in the ears

Mobile phone companies are facing a showdown with the EU over the rules governing the use of e-money. Ken Young reports on a struggle that could cost operators millions, reports The Guardian.

"Buying ringtones and games on mobiles using premium-rate SMS (PSMS) services seems innocent enough. But this booming teenage economy - estimated to be worth £1bn in Europe this year - is fuelling a big debate about the future of money on mobile phones, reports.

"The key issue is that when users buy things that are not directly consumed on the phone - such as tickets and music - they are deemed by the UK's Financial Services Authority as buying with e-money. This makes the operators subject to the rules of the EU's e-money directive".

Steve Proctor, chief executive of aggregator iTagg, expresses the concerns of many. "Overnight the entire ringtone industry could die. I am not convinced the operators are doing enough to stop this."

"It came as something of a surprise that the e-money directive applied to pre-pay," says Susie Lonie, Vodafone's senior product manager for m-commerce. She says Vodafone is looking at a solution where the operator becomes the factoring company - effectively taking the debt of the third parties involved - as is being applied in Germany".

Shazam ties up with MTV Japan

MTV Japan, together with its mobile partner, Yamaha, has launched Japan's first music recognition service - MTV Music Finder, reports Rafat Ali for MocoNews.

In partnership with Shazam Entertainment, the UK-based audio technology company, and SystemK, the Japanese licensee who extensively localised the system for Japanese mobile web platforms, the music recognition service will be made available to wireless consumers across Japan on a subscription basis.

Top Ringtones June 2004

[ via the WSJ ] In ringtone downloads for June, the bottom half of the chart was filled with new entrants: OutKast debuted at No. 6 with "Roses," Kanye West climbed 20 spots from May to No. 8 with "All Falls Down" and "Hotel" by Cassidy (featuring R. Kelly) moved up 23 places to land at No. 7, according to Infospace Mobile. The top five downloads were again dominated by Usher, Twista, Jay-Z and J-Kwon.

Infospace Mobile ringtone chart: TOP RINGTONES

Polyphonic

RANKING. RINGTONE - ARTIST

1. Burn - Usher

2. Overnight Celebrity - Twista

3. Confessions Pt. II - Usher

4. Dirt Off Your Shoulder - Jay-Z

5. Tipsy (Instrumental) - J-Kwon

6. Roses - OutKast

7. Hotel - Cassidy (feat. R. Kelly)

8. All Falls Down - Kanye West

9. Nuthin' But a "G" Thang - Dr. Dre

10. The Reason - Hoobastank

The ringtone industry o make up 12% of total music sales by 2008

The ringtone industry, currently valued at about $3 billion world-wide, is expected to make up 12% of total music sales by 2008, according to a recent study by Baskerville/Informa Media, reports the WSJ.

"However, the value of the market "will start to level out as prices come down and the effects of home copying kick in," said Steve Mayall, an analyst with the U.K. research group.

As the sector grows, the music industry will likely need to expand its fight against online piracy to include Web sites that offer unauthorized ringtones, the study said."

More Wireless Consumers Would Like to Tune in to Mobile Music Services Reports In-Stat/MDR

A recent Consumer Mobility Study by Instat/MDR finds that 11.4% of U.S. mobile subscribers are very or extremely interested in moving beyond basic ringtones and purchasing more full-featured music/audio services for their wireless phones including music and news/talk content available as downloadable content or on demand, reports Business Wire.

"In-Stat/MDR's survey also revealed the following about those who expressed an interest in mobile music and audio:

-- The most popular service concept is the ability to download MP3s or other digital music files directly to wireless handsets, followed closely by the ability to listen to streaming music on demand.

-- Total monthly wireless spending among likely mobile music adopters is 14% higher than the general subscriber base.

-- They are likely to be male, younger, and work in a professional role, and are also more likely than the average wireless subscriber to be African American, Hispanic or Asian American. "

The report, "Consumer Demand for Mobile Music Services" (#IN0401658MCD), is based on In-Stat/MDR's Consumer Mobility Study and contains an overview of survey respondents' interest in potential music and audio services for their mobile handsets.

Virgin Mobile, Comedy Central Gear For More Laughs

Virgin Mobile and Comedy Central say customers will get the opportunity for a lot more laughs starting this month, reports Wireless Week.

"The agreement, part of a broad ongoing strategic alliance between Virgin Mobile and Comedy Central's parent company, MTV Networks, will let Virgin Mobile users dial up special Comedy Central games, screen savers, wallpapers, news alerts, voice greetings and more.

The agreement also will offer exclusive access to content from one of the network's hot properties: 'Crank Yankers,' which kicks off new episodes from its third season on July 20."

Chaoticom snags music deals with European carriers

Millions of European wireless phone customers can now download entire songs directly to their handsets, thanks to mobile music company Chaoticom Inc., reports RCR Wireless News via MocoNews.net.

"European carriers Orange U.K., Eurotel and Telenor Mobile Norway have partnered with Massachusetts-based Chaoticom to allow customers to browse, preview and download hundreds of tracks without interfering with incoming call reception or other calling services. The service, which first became available in the Czech Republic, is now being developed in the United Kingdom and Norway."

In addition, reports Rafat Ali, Chaoticom has signed deals with record labels such as BMG, Warner, Sony and others, to provide customers with a range of songs for downloading.

Catalogue of humorous and musical ring back tones

For the past few months, London based ZE Prod multimedia ltd has been helping its international partners to develop humorous and musical ring back tones and its catalogue (corporate, humour, impressionists, sexy...) will soon be available worlwide, according to a company press release. 

ZE prod specialises in high quality vocal content thanks to a close relationship with some of the finest impressionists, comedians and writers of today. The company benefits from a large catalogue of answer phone messages, HiFi Ringtones, pranks, jokes...