iTunes Prize Winner to Steve Jobs: “Yeah Right, Who Is This Really?”

When Steve Jobs personally called Woodstock, Georgia native Louie Sulcer to tell him he’d won Apple’s iTunes Store 10 Billion Song Sold contest, Sulcer first thought was that he was being pranked, writes Rolling Stone magazine.

After three or four times of asking “Come on now, who is this,” Sulcer realized that his caller ID read simply “Apple,” and only then did he believe that he was the winner of the contest and a $10,000 iTunes card.

Country ringtone No.1 on Billboard

US Country Music singer Jason Aldean told the Houston Chronicle about how good it felt to have his "Big Green Tractor" be the first song by a country artist to hit No. 1 on the Billboard all-genre Ringscan chart. "

Listen to ringtone here.

[via CMT]

Musicians win in ringtones duel with Safaricom

Mobile network operator, Safaricom, and ringtone provider, Cellulant, have been restrained from distributing musical works of 11 top Kenyan artists until a case brought by the Music Copyright Society of Kenya (MCSK) on the ownership of copyright is heard and determined.

[via Business Daily Africa]

Beyonce named top artist of the decade

R&B star Beyonce Knowles has emerged as the most successful musician of this century's first decade in America according to the RIAA. NDTV Movie reports.

The 28-year-old star has landed 64 gold and platinum certifications for sales of albums and videos and a further 19 for ringtones, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Read full article.

Vringo Seeks to Make Ring Tones More Social

The start-up is looking to go public as it bets that consumers want more out of their ringtones. [via Bits]

Vringo offers ringtones with video. When your contact calls, not only can you assign a specific ringtone buy a video as well.

In their own words:

By installing Vringo's application, which is compatible with more than 300 handsets, users can create or take video, images and slideshows from virtually anywhere, including Vringo's library of 5,000-and-counting video ringtone clips or the Web, and make it into their personal call signature. In a first for the mobile industry, Vringo has introduced VringForward, a technology that lets its users select which video ringtone their friends will see when they call.

Apple offers $10,000 for 10 billionth iTunes download

Apple is celebrating its 10 billionth song download with a $10,000 iTunes gift card prize for the person who does the transaction.

The company expects the iTunes milestone to be passed sometime this month.

[via Business Journal]

RealNetworks to power Sprint music content

US operator Sprint has chosen RealNetworks to power a new unified music storefront, offering ringtones, ringback tones and full-track music.

[via Mobile Entertainment]

In India, ringtones may soon ring in taxes

The state revenue department has recommended that entertainment tax be levied on services like mobile ringtones, caller tunes and mobile. Times of India reports.

State revenue minister Narayan Rane said the recommendation will be tabled before the cabinet in the next three months.

Australian Music Market Up 4.8% In 2009

According to Billboard, full-year 2009 trade figures by labels body ARIA show a 4.8% gain in wholesale revenue to $395 million, powered by a booming digital music sector and solid CD album sales.

That Australia's myriad digital channels provided the big highlights should come as no surprise. During a year which welcomed new arrivals in Nokia's Comes With Music and MySpace Music, Australia's digital music business in 2009 grew by 46% to $70 million).

Read full article.

Music's lost decade: Sales cut in half

At the end of last year, the music business was worth half of what it was ten years ago and the decline doesn't look like it will be slowing anytime soon. Money CNN reports.

Total revenue from U.S. music sales and licensing plunged to $6.3 billion in 2009, according to Forrester Research. In 1999, that revenue figure topped $14.6 billion.

... Now just 44% of U.S. Internet users and 64% of Americans who buy digital music think that that music is worth paying for, according to Forrester. The volume of unauthorized downloads continues to represent about 90% of the market, according to online download tracker BigChampagne Media Measurement.

The music industry has tried to keep up by licensing ringtones, licensing music on popular Internet radio stations like MySpace Music and Pandora and licensing music videos on YouTube. Digital licensing revenue reached $84 million in 2009, and it is expected to grow substantially in the coming year.

Read full artilce.