STOCKHOLM, Sweden-L.M. Ericsson plans to offer ringtones and full-track downloads from music publisher EMI to European wireless users.
The companies announced a deal to bring 12,000 ringtones and 200,000 full tunes to market through Ericsson’s white-label mobile music portal. EMI’s stable of artists includes Coldplay, Faith Evens, Gorillaz and Norah Jones as well as Spain’s Bebe, Italy’s Tiziano Ferro and Wir Sind Helden of Germany.
Ericsson claims its offering is “the most widely commercially deployed personalized mobile music service among operators today.” Other mobile music providers that have deployed services with European carriers include Groove Mobile and Melodeo Inc. Ericsson rival Nokia Corp. too offers a white-label music download service.
“Music fans across Europe have consistently shown that they want to use their phone to listen to full tracks from their favorite artists, or to personalize their device with a ringtone,” said Doug Lucas, vice president of digital development and distribution for EMI Music in Europe.
