March 30, 2005
Bypassing the radio in Israel
Israelis are getting more and more dependent on their mobile phones, reports Haaretz. Especially the 15-30 age group, hooked on ringtones, ringbacktones and truetones.
"It is an excellent opportunity for us to reach the young audience," says Boaz Ben-Tzion, manager for artists Machina and Eli Yatzpan. "It is a new start for all musicians and for local music. I think the popularity of music on cellphones will inject adrenaline into the industry."
Within a few months, when Machina goes on tour in the US, Cellcom subscribers will be able to see live clips of the concerts. "Anywhere music can be transmitted is good," agrees Haim Slutzky, another music manager.
Anywhere music can be transmitted and make a profit, not like the major problem facing the music world with the file sharing sites. Besides, contracts between artists and phone companies bypass another sore spot - radio stations.
"This move bypasses the playlists and the radio station managers who decide for all the listeners who will be heard and who won't," comments Ben-Tzion. "On the cellphone, each subscriber will decide what he wants to hear and when."
"The term mainstream has been blurred thanks to cellphones," says Haim Shemesh, in charge of the repertoire at NMC Music. "The playlist culture that tries to present a specific type of music - while many consumers want to listen to and be exposed to other music - will find it difficult to maintain control," he says.
NMC has embarked on a joint venture with Shabak Music, which represents a group of artists that transfer musical content to subscribers to Pelephone's youth brand Esc. The group's members will provide Pelephone with a stream of songs, including ones that have not been released on radio.
"Recording companies the world over were not prepared for the big process that swept over the music market in the past decade," says Shemesh, "but the technology exists, and we are happy to join it."
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