The fight against digital rights management gained an unlikely backer as Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs called for record companies to offer music without anti-piracy software.Jobs, in an open letter posted on Apple's Web site, claimed that a variety of DRM offerings have resulted...
INFRASTRUCTURE POWERHOUSE L.M. ERICSSON became the latest network maker to try its hand in the content arena. Ericsson, the world's largest equipment manufacturer, announced a partnership with Turner Broadcasting System International to develop and deliver Turner's suite of news and entertainment content to the...
The fight against digital rights management gained an unlikely backer as Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs called for record companies to offer music without anti-piracy software.Jobs, in an open letter posted on Apple's Web site, claimed that a variety of DRM offerings have resulted...
Hip-hop tunes continue to dominate the U.S. ringtone market, according to new information from content provider 9 Squared.Rap tunes accounted for eight of the top ten ringtones sold by the MonsterMob Group Co. subsidiary last year, with Chamillionaire's "Ridin'" earning honors as the year's...
Leap Wireless International Inc. plans to offer a new mobile music service through its Cricket brand, thanks to a new partnership with mobile music provider Musiwave. Paris-based Musiwave, a subsidiary of Openwave Systems Inc., powers full-track download services, streaming music and other offerings for...
Sony BMG Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group are backing an effort to provide full-track mobile music downloads to Chinese subscribers.The companies announced a strategic investment in Access China Media Solutions, a joint venture between U.S.-based digital content delivery company Melodeo Inc. and Access...
Verizon Wireless subscribers spend more on mobile data than customers of any other U.S. carrier, according to new data from IDC.The market research firm found Verizon Wireless users spent an average of $7.27 per month on data services in the third quarter of 2006,...
Full-track, over-the-air downloads have yet to gain any serious traction, and ringtones are so 2006. But when it comes to mobile music applications, U.S. carriers increasingly are looking to ringback tones to boost data revenues.Ringback tones-music clips that a caller hears instead of a...
IN A GAHAN WILSON CARTOON several presidential campaigns ago, an alien steps from a flying saucer and a crowd of humans surge forward. At the back of the crowd, one human confides to another, "I don't know who he is, but I like him."...
Warner Music Group struck its second mobile deal in as many days, announcing an agreement to distribute videos through MobiTV Inc.The music company said it will offer made-for-mobile videos including artist-created clips from Linkin Park and other Warner acts. The videos will be updated...
Motorola Inc. is jumping into the mobile music business with an effort to sell wireless content from Warner Music Group Corp.The handset maker said it will offer preloaded and downloadable full-length tunes, ringtones, ringback tones, music videos and other goodies from the record label....
Sprint Nextel Corp. was the first U.S. carrier on the mobile music dance floor in October 2005, launching a full-track, dual-download service for its music-loving subscribers.For now, though, Verizon Wireless is the belle of the ball. And Cingular Wireless L.L.C.'s new service may prove...
Verizon Wireless is pushing their mobile music offerings by allowing users to download a free ringtone on New Year's Eve.Subscribers can text the word "tone" to short code 2007 to get instructions on how to download a free ringtone. Users can choose from a...
Time was when the wireless industry's major, marketshaping impact in the telecom sphere was defined by the number of mobile phones that became substitutes for landline telephones, which historically consumers have relied on for day-to-day communications.Just as Ma Bell back in the day grossly...
For those of you yearning to edit your MySpace page while on the go, supreme happiness has arrived: Cingular Wireless and MySpace.com have struck a deal. Cingular customers can use MySpace Mobile to edit their profiles, view and add "friends," post photos and blogs...
OVERLAND PARK, Kan.-Sprint Nextel Corp. is offering a weekly rotation of about 10 free, full-track music downloads from independent artists in an effort to showcase its mobile music store.The carrier is teaming with the Independent Online Distribution Alliance, which boasts a song catalog culled...
This was supposed to be the year of the music phone, but as the holiday season approaches the home stretch, on-the-go music lovers are still hoping to find dedicated MP3 players in their stockings.U.S. sales of portable digital music players is expected to slow...
While most U.S. consumers still see a mobile phone as, well, a phone, young wireless users increasingly view it as a way to meet new friends, share pictures and maybe, to find love.The rise of community-based Internet sites and services has been as well-documented...
BASKING RIDGE, N.J.-Verizon Wireless touted the "sideloading" functionality of its mobile music service, unveiling an application designed to make it easier for Vcast Music subscribers to manage their libraries on PCs and mobile phones. The offering is a shot back at Cingular Wireless L.L.C.'s...
VANCOUVER, British Columbia-Canadian network operator Telus Mobility is adding a subscription-based offering to its full-track mobile music service.The carrier launched an all-you-can-eat service allowing users to browse songs and receive unlimited downloads for $20 a month. The offering compliments Telus' 7-month-old service that sells...
LONDON—Groove Mobile is hoping to take its wireless, full-track download service directly to European consumers. The mobile music technology developer said it will step up marketing and business development efforts in England, tapping Jason Binks as its new director of off-portal marketing. Binks’ resume...
BASINGSTOKE, England—The ringtone market will continue to expand thanks to strong growth in developing markets and the introduction of new personalization products, according to new figures from Juniper Research. The firm predicts a 22 percent rise in ringtone sales over the next three years...
While Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel Corp. lumber around the nascent mobile music playground looking to "own the customer," Cingular Wireless L.L.C. hopes to attract music lovers by playing nice. The nation's largest wireless operator last week finally joined the full-track wireless music arena,...
OVERLAND PARK, Kan.—Cingular Wireless L.L.C. tomorrow will become the third tier-one wireless carrier to launch a mobile music offering, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal, with a service that will allow users to "side load" tunes from partners Napster, Yahoo Music...
