New digital music labels could bring you tunes by Jihad Jerry and Evildoers

Warner Music Group, one of the world's largest recording companies, plans to launch a digital music label this fall, a move that pushes the music CD closer to the recycling bin of history, reports the Mercury News.

"The "e-label" is tentatively named Cordless. It will release songs exclusively for download over the Internet or to cell phones, without burning or shipping a single shiny plastic disc. Warner joins another giant label, Universal Music Group, which now has more than a dozen artists signed to its digital spinoff.

Digital labels could upend a half-century of business practices that left the musician bearing the cost of marketing and distributing an album. The vast majority rarely see royalty checks beyond their initial advance. With the lower costs of digital distribution, the artists stand to make more money. And unconventional acts could attract big-label backing -- a prospect that means music lovers will hear more edgy, experimental fare.

Compact disc shipments have plummeted 31 percent since 1999, as consumers move away from pre-packaged albums to custom-made playlists, downloaded one song at a time."

Ringtone patent lawsuit!

Haaretz.com reports that a gentleman named Marco Luzzatto has claimed in a lawsuit with Siemens, that he was the owner of a registered patent on ringtones! in Israel, the United States, and Europe.

"Siemens, which uses the technology on its cellular devices, agreed to pay Luzzatto an undisclosed amount in return for his dropping the lawsuit. Both sides signed a confidentiality agreement regarding the settlement's size.

... Sources believe Luzzatto earned millions of shekels from the recent lawsuit. However, they believe Israel is just a training ground for larger lawsuits in Europe, with the most likely next target is Italy".

I don't really understand this lawsuit, as it was my understanding that James Winsoar first realised in July 1999, that a feature built by Nokia into their cell phones -- allowing mobile phone companies to add their logo and ringing sounds -- could be exploited by others, allowing anyone the freedom to customise their mobile phone with graphics and music.

Anyway this lawsuit seems as far a shot to me as BT's hypertext lawsuit, several years ago - which they lost - claiming they owned the patent to hyperlinks - in hope of charging US Internet Service Providers.

[via Techdirt]

Sony and 3 target iPod market

Mobile phone company 3, Britain's newest network, has signed a deal with Sony BMG, the world's second largest music company, to bring its stable of artists including Oasis and Destiny's Child to mobile phones, reports the BBC.

"The move is yet another attempt by an operator to persuade customers to do more with their phones than just talk and send texts. It also represents part of the industry's efforts to turn mobile phones into digital music players and usurp gadgets such as the iPod.

Under its deal with Sony BMG, 3 customers will be able to access all the artists for which Sony has mobile rights including Britney Spears, Usher and Charlotte Church, with new releases from bands such as Foo Fighters and a substantial back catalogue."

Cingular to Offer Phone That Plays Apple's iTunes

Apple Computer Inc., in an effort to extend its strength in digital music to a potentially large new market, has reached an agreement with Cingular Wireless to offer a Motorola cellphone that will play songs from Apple's iTunes Music Store, according to people familiar with the matter, reports the WSJ.

The announcements could come as soon as next week.

... "The iTunes phone, which can play music transferred from a personal computer's iTunes music collection, is part of an expected onslaught of music services from wireless carriers and handset makers. Apple holds a powerful le ad with its iPods, but the Cupertino, Calif., company could face a threat if cellphones become a preferred method for listening on the go."

Related:

-- Verizon and Sprint say no to the iTunes phone - BusinessWeek via Engadget is reporting that both Sprint and Verizon Wireless have already said no to Motorola's iTunes phone.

-- Motorola Says It Is Working on More iTunes Phones - Motorola said on Thursday it is working on several mobile phones that are compatible with Apple's iTunes music service and some of which can store eight hours of songs

-- Motorola's New iTunes Phones Announced - Motorola plans to announce the first handsets that will carry Apple's popular iTunes music software at Cebit.

Radiden, radiophone

NTT DoCoMo has announced the "Radiden," a cross between a mobile phone and a radio. It's the world's first handset to feature an integrated AM/FM/TV tuner, and uses a "Dual Front Design."

The name "RADIDEN" comes from a combination of "radio" and "denwa" (meaning phone).

[via TechJapan]

RIM simplifies licensing of music for ringtones

The Recording Industry Association of Malaysia (RIM) has set up a one-stop centre to licence local music repertoire for digital distribution, reports The Malaysia Star.

"The move is to address the complex licensing issues associated with the digital distribution of music, it said. But for now the licensing is restricted to ringtones, as a test.

Previously, a content provider – a telecommunications company, for example – that wanted to sell “truetones” (a ringtone that contains an actual recording of a song) had to obtain a total of five licences.

.. Then there's broadcast rights which have to be obtained from three separate bodies This refers to the act of transmitting ringtone signals via SMS (short message service) to a consumer's handset.

... On top of that, the telco also had to obtain two reproduction licences from the recording company and the publisher (or composer).

The licences for normal polyphonic tones and monophonic tones are more straightforward because reproductions of a recording only involve royalties payable to MACP and the publishers (or composers).

With the setting-up of RIM's one-stop shop, the process of licensing local music is now relatively simple. The content provider just needs to deal with the association."

Ring-back Tones to Become Advertising Channel

You pick up a phone. You dial a number. You hear a ringing signal that will continue until the call is answered or you hang up. You are listening to a "ring back" signal that is currently being replaced by music and eventually, advertisements.

If Perceptive Impression has their way, the music will be replaced with targeted advertisements the company creates.

Perceptive Impression claims that "ring back" ads are the newest advertising platform. According to consultancy Ovum, the worldwide market for "ring backs" is projected to grow from US$148 million in 2003 to US$2.4 billion by 2008.

[via Cellular News]

Latin fans ready to dial up ringtones

The next growth spurt in the ringtone market very likely will have a Latin flavor, according to The Washington Post.

"With few exceptions, ringtones have remained largely a medium for hip-hop/R&B music, because of the genre's popularity and the wide acceptance of wireless services within hip-hop culture. Such hip-hop acts as 50 Cent, Snoop Dogg and Lil Jon regularly dominate the Billboard Hot Ringtones chart.

But wireless operators are seeking new areas for growth and see the urban Hispanic market -- dubbed "hurban" -- as a prime target.

While the market for ringtones has exploded in Latin America, in the United States only a few Latin music ringtones have become best sellers.

The U.S. Census Bureau predicts that Hispanics will be the largest teen minority group by year's end, and will account for 20 percent of teens by 2015.

At the same time, Hispanics are the most prolific consumers of wireless devices, services and content. According to a Forrester Research report, Hispanics tend to buy multimedia-capable phones much sooner after their introduction than other demographic groups and replace their handsets more frequently".

Fixed lines sizzles up with ringtones

Value added services such as SMS, MMS and ringtones, which have become differentiators and major revenue generators for the cellular service providers, are set to energise the fixed line telephones market (in India) as well, according to The Economic Times.

... Airtel, which has been a leader in introducing value-added services on the landline phones, now has 30,000 subscribers for it's Hello tunes in this segment.

... Facilities like live cricket scores, music downloads, parallel ringing and call forwarding make the fixed line phones, which families use at home, more relevant and the whole experience more exciting. Some features like delayed hotline also enhance security for very young or aged users."

Ringtone Regulation (?)

An interesting post from Rafat Ali for Moco News, on how laws and contracts haven't caught up with advances in mobile technology and how movie script writers are not receiving royalties for ringtones based on movie quotes.

"It'll come as no surprise to you that ringtones formed from movie quotes are in the market and doing fairly well… and of course they offer a very simple path to a video ringtone. There's an interesting angle in this story though, which is the aim of the big movie studios to grab a slice of the giant ringtone pie that the big record labels are currently enjoying.

A month ago, screenwriter Jim Herzfeld saw on the Internet that a line of his “Meet the Parents” dialogue — in which Robert De Niro says to Ben Stiller, “I have nipples, Greg. Can you milk me?” — was among the more popular movie ring tones available.

Herzfeld receives royalty checks when clips from the movie are used elsewhere, even getting paid a couple of hundred dollars after “Meet the Parents” footage was shown in a De Niro tribute from the American Film Institute. But Herzfeld says he hasn't received a dime for ring tone dialogue, so he called the Writers Guild of America, West, to ask why that was the case. Herzfeld says the WGA had no helpful information..."

Have your phone sing your first name as a ringtone

Spanish Olemovil offers TONO NOMBRES, a very personalized ringtone service, enabling your phone to sing out a little song calling your name, whenever it rings.

You have to download the application or send it to a friend as a surprise. Let's say she's called Vanessa. Next time she gets a call, her mobile will sing "Vanessa, someone's calling you, Vanessa,pick up the phone!". [via Noticias].

Related service:

-- Spring PCS gets name ringers - If you thought ringtones were annoying, how about a phone which calls you by your first name, saying “Amy… Amy… Amy… Oh, Amy… Pick up the phone.” According to Mobile Tracker, Sprint PCS is offering just that. They call them “name ringers”, a collection of ringtones made just for people with common names. (It only works for common names as they have to make the ringtones, it's not a voice synth).

Mobile music awards for ringtones and caller tunes

At a ceremony last night, awards were presented to international and local record labels for the top 20 songs that Telecom mobile users have downloaded as either a ringtone or caller tune, reports Scoop.

The awards, organised in conjunction with mobile music content provider Mercury Mobility, follow equivalent levels set by the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand for singles sales.

The inaugural Telecom Mobile music awards have been presented for the following:

Platinum award (10,000 tru-tone and caller tune downloads):

- Beautiful by Snoop Dogg, EMI
- 1,2 Step by Ciara featuring Missy Elliott, Sony BMG
- Red Red Wine by UB40, EMI

Gold award (5,000 tru-tone and caller tune downloads):

- Stop the Music by P Money and Scribe, FMR
- Keep on Calling by P Money featuring Akon, FMR
- Slow Jamz by Twista, Warner Music
- Chop Suey by System of a Down, Sony BMG
- Baby Boy by Big Brovaz, Sony BMG
- Girls Just Wanna Have Fun by Cyndi Lauper, Sony BMG
- Soldier by Destiny's Child, Sony BMG
- Push Up by Freestylers, Shock
- Let Me Love You by Mario, Sony BMG
- Lose My Breath by Destiny's Child, Sony BMG
- American Idiot by Green Day, Warner Music
- Caught Up by Usher, Sony BMG
- Slice of Heaven by Dave Dobbyn, Sony BMG
- Don't Worry Be Happy by Bobby McFerrin, EMI
- Breaking the Habit by Linkin Park, Warner Music
- Naughty Girl by Beyonce, Sony BMG

Can Cell Phones Save the Music Business?

A must read article from Business 2.0 on the music industry and cell phones.

"Looking to build buzz around hip-hop artist Cassidy, Sony BMG shunned CD singles and MTV sneak previews. Instead, the label chose a track called “I'm a Hustla” from Cassidy's new album and turned it into a 25-second sample that could be downloaded as a ringtone.

The $2.49 song clip, known as a mastertone, was an instant hit. In four months it was downloaded half a million times. By the time the album finally debuted in June -- at No. 5 on the Billboard chart -- the ringtone had gone platinum. “The ringtone market is the singles market of our time,” says Thomas Hesse, president of Sony BMG's global digital-music division.

Record labels see ringtone demand as a sign that music sales are moving to cell phones. Last year consumers spent $4 billion on ringtones, with about 30 percent going to mastertones.

This month Motorola and Sony Ericsson are rolling out handsets capable of downloading and storing hundreds of songs; Nokia's will debut this fall. “We think that, for some people, the phone will eventually replace the MP3 player,” says Thomas Ryan, a senior VP at EMI.

The phone is the first real digital-music moneymaker for record labels, because they bring in much more from cell-phone downloads than from other digital outlets.

Mastertones sell for nearly three times as much as iTunes tracks, and the labels often command royalties as high as 50 percent. “In a little more than a year, we've generated as much revenue from ringtones as from all other digital music combined,” says Sony BMG's Hesse. That take came to roughly $125 million in 2004.

As soon as full song downloads take off in a few years, mastertone prices will likely drop. Thomas Dolby Robertson, a former pop star who founded Retro Ringtones, thinks the clips will eventually be free. “We're sort of like drug dealers, using ringtones to get people hooked on digital music,” Robertson says. If recent sales are any clue, we're becoming a nation with a serious jones".

Mobile Phone Cos Tune Into Live Music Sponsorship

Mobile phone companies are shifting megabuck U.K. sponsorship campaigns away from sports events and into live music, hoping to take advantage of a boom in concert attendance and also fuel demand for the high-margin music-based mobile content, reports Cellular News.

"Sport has traditionally taken the lion's share of telecoms sponsorship cash, but the emergence of music as a key driver for data usage amongst mobile phone users has renewed interest in concert promotion.

Live music also offers mobile companies the opportunity to provide special services for customers of the sponsor, helping to reduce the number of customers switching providers, or churn, and also attracting new users.

The swing in focus away from sports promotion to live music has coincided with a boom in attendance of live music events. Live concerts have always been popular in the U.K. summer, but the number of events has exploded in recent years."

In search of ring tone artists

Looking for artists, or suggestions for artists working with ring tones for an upcoming show at the Pacific Film Archive in Berkeley, California.

The 2 programs will explore different ways the phone has been used in cultural and creative contexts through film, video and new media works.

Send suggestions/responses to Laura Deutch at ldeutch@berkeley.edu.

[via Rhizome.org]

Johnny Hallyday launches mobile version of new single

In what is being heralded as a first in France, the AP reports that icon rock star Johnny Hallyday, will be releasing an excerpt of his new single «Ma religion dans son regard» for mobile phones on Friday, at 3 pm, before the official launch of the single itself and before any radio releases.

«Ma religion dans son regard» is the first title of his new album «Ma vérité», available in stores October 31st.

[via the AP (in French)]

Universal Music Group gets a phone of its own

Universal Music Group and partner SingleTouch Internative are bringing to market a music-focused mobile phone, called MoveU Mobile, which will provide access to such personalized entertainment as ringtones, wallpaper images and other music-related downloads, according to Reuters.

"SingleTouch will create phones branded for individual UMG artists, sold through each artist's Web site, with preloaded content specific to that person. SingleTouch already has sold 7,000 units of a Hilary Duff-branded phone (picture left) and is in the process of rolling out a Barbie-branded model.

The MoveU phone will be sold later this year for $99.95 at Wal-Mart and other retail locations. That price is considered to be essential for mass consumer adoption".

Melodeo plans free podcast downloads to phones

Seattle company Melodeo, which makes software to download songs to mobile phones, plans to make available free software to download podcasts on mobile phones, reports The Seattle Times.

The Mobilcast software would allow users a way to bypass a computer to download audio content directly to a phone (watch the demo).

The announcement of the pending release of Mobilcast is part of a campaign by the company to draw attention to its full-track music service for mobile phones.

Stan Sorensen, at Melodeo, said if people first learn how to download free podcasts to their mobile phone, then maybe downloading full music tracks will be easy: "This is an awareness drive. If you can download content over the air and its relatively easy to do this, and you know your phone is an adequate device to do it, you can take this stuff and go to town."

When Melodeo first launches the software in September, it will work only with Symbian operating systems. Shortly after the initial launch, Melodeo will launch a Java version.

But most consumers don't know what operating system they have. Another issue will be getting the software on the phone. Melodeo will offer the software for free on its Web site. Most likely, a user will enter their mobile phone number into the site and receive a text message with access to the application.

Nokia Says Won't Include Itunes On N91 Music Phone

Nokia Thursday said it won't include Apple's popular iTunes software on its new N91 music phone, countering speculation it would.

"Our main strategy is to provide links to telecom operators' music stores," said Kari Tuutti, a spokesman at Finland-based Nokia's Multimedia unit, which makes the N91.

Tuutti said the N91 is based on an operating system that allows external developers, including Apple, to develop their own software to run on the phone.

It would therefore be possible for Apple, or someone else, to offer iTunes software that can be downloaded and installed on the phone.

"It will not be included in the sales package for the N91," Tuutti said.

Nokia has an agreement with Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) about including software that enables easy transfer of music between mobile phones and personal computers.

[via Cellular News]

College Ringtones and Wallpapers

Rafat Ali for MocoNews writes about Fight Tones, which has launched over 196 college logos and fight songs for mobiles, as wallpaers and ringtones at $2 per download.

This is the premium SMS version…a BREW version of this product was launched in September, 2004.

Summus and 2ThumbZ are jointly marketing this product through a multi-carrier “Back to School” campaign. The promotional efforts include newspaper advertising on major college campuses, as well as the distribution of posters, brochures and other information in freshman dorms and at tailgate events.

Related articles:

-- Alumnus sells fight song ringtones - This is a wonderful success story. A father and University of Iowa alumnus has sold more than 400 high school and college fight song ringtones at $5 each since he started his business last year (from 2002 to 2003).

-- Ringtones from their alma maters - NCAA basketball fans can download the "fight song" ringtone from their alma maters, and college fight songs are also available from ringtone provider Zingy.com.

Nokia's music phone to use Apple's iTunes -paper

Nokia will bring Apple's iTunes music service to its upcoming music phone N91, Finnish daily Taloussanomat reported on Thursday, without disclosing sources.

"I've seen already a phone like that," Anssi Vanjoki, head of Nokia's multimedia unit, told the newspaper, without giving further details.

Officials in Nokia's multimedia division were not immediately available to comment on the report.

... "Nokia unveiled in April its N91 multimedia phone which will have a 4-gigabyte hard drive to store thousands of songs. The phone, which will also run on high-speed 3G and wireless LAN networks, is due to hit the shelves in the fourth quarter".

Survey finds users don't want MP3 mobile phones

Mobile phone manufacturers and operators are spending millions making the latest mobile phones capable of becoming MP3 players in their own right. Yet a survey by Pocket-lint.co.uk suggest they might be wasting their money.

72% of the entrants said that even if they had the chance to listen to their favourite tracks on their mobile, they wouldn't bother.

There is some hope though. Of those that said they don't currently listen to music, 23% said that they would consider it with a further 5% not sure for the time being.

The survey was completed by 4,184 people from around the globe who visited Pocket-lint.co.uk in July.

Sprint Nextel to launch music download service

print Nextel is expected to launch a music download service during the fourth quarter, this according to a company executive, reports Mobile Tracker.

"Consumers with phones that include Bluetooth or memory card slots are able to load their phones up with songs they already own (though music purchased from the iTunes music store will not work, that is until the upcoming iTunes phones from Motorola ship).

10,000 Fans Turn Out for Fusion Flash Concerts

Over 10,000 rabid fans turned out for STAIND's free show at Boston's City Hall Plaza on Tuesday as part of the "Fusion Flash Concerts" Series. This special performance in the band's home state coincided with the release of their new CD CHAPTER V.

This surprise show was announced only five days in advance, via the "Fusion Flash Concerts" Series, employing text messaging as a means of alerting and gathering fans for shows. [via Top40 Charts]

Related: - Fusion Flash Concerts: Commercial Flash Mobbing

Music downloads to phones dominate Japanese market

Music downloads via cell phones outpaced those to digital music players by a wide margin in Japan during the first six months of 2005, according to data released last week.

Cell phone downloads including complete songs and ring tone melodies totaled 108.9 million songs during the first half of the year and were worth ¥13.6 billion ($123 million as of June 30, the last day of the period). In contrast, legal music downloads from the Internet to devices like portable music players totaled 2.2 million songs and were worth ¥538.8 million during the same period.

Those figures mean cell phone downloads accounted for 98 percent of the market by song and 96 per cent by value during the first half.

The launch of Apple's iTunes Music Store in Japan on August 4 is likely to boost the Internet portion of the download market in the second half of the year. Their song sales had already hit 1 million tracks after four days of operation.

Usage is also growing at Mora, a download service operated by Sony Communication Network and many local record companies. After breaking the 100,000 song download per month barrier last year, the service saw around 450,000 downloads per month during the April to June period.

[via 3yen < Macworld]

Monica Bellucci's customized ringtone

Monica Bellucci's phone rings to the sounds of her infant daughter Deva laughing and cooing, writes Ottawasun.

"It's my way of keeping connected to her."
"She's 10 months old and this is the first time I've been away from her," says the Italian actress who flew to Los Angeles recently to help promote Terry Gilliam's special effects fantasy The Brothers Grimm that opens Aug. 26.

Sony Ericsson creates buzz for Walkman-branded mobile phone

Sony Ericsson is using digital media to create a global buzz around the launch of its first Walkman-branded mobile phone/music player, the W800, as part of a multi-million-pound through-the-line ad push, report New Media Age.

For the first time, the mobile handset manufacturer is planning to premiere the ad for the W800 online before it airs on TV, and has also filmed an alternative ending for it that will be shown exclusively online.

The campaign is based around the theme that the W800 provides the 'Soundtrack to your life'.

In addition, Sony Ericsson plans to compile an online list of the world's top 100 favourite songs via a new site called walkmanphones100.com. Users will be able to vote for their top three songs of all time, with the winner to be revealed at the end of the month. [via adverblog]

Related article : - The Walkman phones 100 soundtrack

Let me entertain you... on your mobile phone

He has had worldwide sales of more than 32 million and has had 19 top 10 hits, but that is still not enough for Robbie Williams. The 31-year-old singer will make his mark again in October when the singles from his new album are made available to mobile telephone users two days before they go on sale on CD. The Telegraph reports.

"Williams, his record company EMI and the mobile telephone operator T-Mobile have agreed an 18-month deal to give music fans exclusive access to songs on their telephones before they reach record shops. The release of Trippin', from the new album Intensive Care, is expected to be the first new single to reach fans via the mobile network.

Each song will cost from £1.50 to download, the same as T-Mobile charges for a ring tone."

Following in the wake of Crazy Frog, the mobile telephone ring tone that topped the charts in May, the deal is the latest leap forward in the digital music revolution.

... Matthis Immel, the vice-president of consumer marketing at T-Mobile, said the deal with Williams heralded a new era for the music and communications industries.

"Mobile phones are set to become the dominant digital music players," he said. "Three hundred million people have mobile phones in Europe and within five to six years the majority of phones will have digital music capability. That far exceeds the number of iPods."

The increased capacity of mobile telephones to download and play music would also affect the way people shopped, he said. "If you hear a song you like on the radio while you're in your car, you'll be able to download it immediately."

John Leahy, the marketing and creative director of EMI Records, said the partnership "signposted the way forward in the music business" but it was unlikely that digital music telephones would replace the CD and CD player.

"Mobile phones are a new market, but CD sales are still very important to us and will be in the foreseeable future. CDs will still dominate in five years' time."

Williams said agreements between artists and mobile companies to distribute music would become increasingly popular. "The future is music by mobile," he said.

Related:

-- Robbie rings the changes - Badboy rocker Robbie Williams's concerts will be broadcast live on mobile phones around the world in a deal set to revolutionise the music industry

-- Robbie Williams becomes first artist to launch greatest hits album on memory card - a tiny stamp size gizmo that slots straight into a mobile phone to deliver music on the move.

Rocking the stage with mobile phones

The Handydandy consists of five media artists from Austria using their mobile phones as musical instruments.

The mobile phones are used only as interfaces and they are connected, via Bluetooth, to a computer network."

[via WMMNA]

Ring tones that bite and zing

Ben Chamy in an article in News.com writes that an increasing number of ring tones are adapted from bits of speech, movie sound effects and other unconventional sources, including adult-film actress Jenna Jameson, who has created an R-rated ring tone that is said to be among the best-selling cell phone alerts in Latin America.

"While there's little specific data on sales of these new novelties, there is anecdotal evidence suggesting they will emerge as the next big ring-tone trend, said Matt Kleinschmit, vice president of market analyst firm Ipsos Insight, which has been tracking the ring-tone market for several years.

The rest of the article is roundup of familiar stories for anyone reading this column, but one important story is missing, how a voice tone was used for the first time to destabilize a governemnt (a cellphone sound clip spread allegations that the President of the Philippines tried to fix the result of last year's election).