March 18, 2006
Classical Music: Rings
Everyone from Madonna to hip-hop star Kanye West has been selling portions of their songs as cellphone ringtones. Now, some less likely names are joining them -- like the early 20th-century Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. The WSJ reports.
"Orchestras and classical-music publishers want a piece of the increasingly lucrative ringtone business -- which saw about $600 million in U.S. sales last year -- and they're rolling out their own music for cellphones:
-- Boosey & Hawkes, a major classical music publisher, offers more than 300 songs from its catalog as $2.99 ringtone downloads on its Web site.
-- The New York-based American Composers Orchestra is auctioning five exclusive ringtones online that it commissioned from composers like Philip Glass and Danny Elfman.
-- And the London Symphony Orchestra now sells ringtone versions of its concert recordings for European cellphones on its Web site for about $5.20 each, and plans to start carrying ones for U.S. phones this year."
Related articles on Classical Music and cell phones:
-- Missed the concert? Get the ring tone
-- Nokia announces Ryuichi Sakamoto phone
-- Teenage violin virtuoso to launch ringtones
-- The Royal Opera of London offers ringtones
-- Playing classical ringtones are music to his ears
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