Info
EMI, Ericsson cut ringback deal
Pact will enable mobile phone users to download songs to replace the ringing sound while they're waiting for their call to be answered.
EMI Music and Ericsson have signed a North American deal to allow the label's music to be used to create "ringbacks"--that is, substituting downloaded song clips for the ringing sound callers hear while they wait for their call to be answered.
The mobile phone user would download a ringback song, allowing people calling that person to hear the song instead of the ringing. The user could potentially download multiple songs, allowing different callers to hear different songs.
The EMI offering will include songs from artists like Blondie, Coldplay, Gorillaz, Norah Jones, Pink Floyd, Rolling Stones, and Yellowcard.
"Ringback tones have proven to be very popular, particularly top hits and those tracks that lend themselves well to the mobile environment," said Mikael Bäckström, general manager and vice president of global services for Ericsson North America. "Between Ericsson's leadership in mobile content and EMI's vast music catalogue and artist roster, this amounts to a very attractive partnership."
Ericsson is looking to position itself as a back-end provider of those ringbacks, hoping to attract wireless carriers to tap into the idea. The deal is nonexclusive, meaning that EMI could make its catalog available to other providers or to carriers directly. Verizon and T-Mobile currently offer ringback services.
Through the deal, content owners like EMI could make songs available to Ericsson, which would then manage the service, fulfillment, and customer service for the wireless carrier.
"Ringbacks provide a great way to express oneself. It's a lot more fun to hear something like Blondie's 'Call Me' or Right Said Fred's 'I'm Too Sexy' than a boring ring," said Thomas Ryan, senior vice president for mobile and digital business development at EMI Music North America.
T-Mobile's CallerTunes ringback service costs $1.49 per month, and there's a one-time charge of $1.99 for each CallerTune selected.
Just added
