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Xingtone Launches mStore Solution Allowing Artists to Market, Sell and
Deliver Their Own Ringtones
New Offering Opens the Mobile Content Market To Any Independent Content Owner, Free From Mobile Carrier Limitations
LOS ANGELES, CA - April 20, 2005
Xingtone, a leader in off-carrier mobile content distribution, announced today its Xingtone mStore solution, a turnkey e-commerce offering for independent content owners to market, sell and deliver real-music ringtones from their website directly to fans at the click of a button. Until now, only best selling artists' ringtones have been available through the largest carriers.
Using the web-based Xingtone mStore builder, an artist or record label simply uploads ringtone clips as .wav files, selects a storefront design to integrate with their current website, and manages their mStore through a secure client login. The Xingtone mStores include hosting, storefront, shopping cart, payment processing, immediate ringtone format conversion and delivery over the air (OTA) to a fan's mobile phone.
With ringtone sales topping $300 million in sales last year for more than 182 million mobile phone users in the U.S.*, ringtones have quickly become a revenue stream and effective marketing device for music labels.
"Music labels have long known the value of getting clips of artists' songs into the phones of millions of fans," said Jonathan Schreiber, CEO, Xingtone. "It's such a compelling marketing and revenue-generating tool for any music executive or emerging artist - you have fans who feel a personal connection to the music and their mobile devices and they'll pay for ringtones that in turn help promote the music itself. We've created a turn-key solution that allows any content owner to build a Xingtone mStore integrated with their website, independent of mobile carrier limitations."
Partners such as IRIS Distribution, representing more than 170 artists' digital music, see the value of a turnkey mStore solution. "Like IRIS, Xingtone's mStore gives independent labels major-label respect," said Bryn Boughton, chief marketing officer, IRIS Distribution. "Xingtone's mStore offering makes it easy and effective for prominent independent record labels and entertainment brands to deliver ringtones to their hungry consumers. As a distributor focused on marketing opportunities, Xingtone's mStores already have been a great success story for us and our important clients like SCI Fidelity Records, Le Tigre and Megaforce Records."
A simple-to-use solution, the company provides all back-end technical and billing support for the ringtones, and revenue is split evenly between the company and artist or record label. Xingtone is also able to provide marketing support for new mStores by promoting them to its customer base and creating banners, flyers and marketing messages as well as track sales and web traffic through a personalized mStore dashboard.
Xingtone's mStore solution comes after a pilot program with a number of record labels, artists and content owners, from global music giant Ministry of Sound with ringtones and wallpaper to Norton Motorcycles promotional engine sound ringtones. Recently launched mStores include John Cleese of Monty Python fame and reggae great Toots and The Maytals, among others.
"Xingtone's mobile content store has the power to support not just the garage band, but also big-name talent," said Ruth McCartney, CEO of McCartney.com, co-founder of iFanz and developer of John Cleese's fan site, "This solution offers artists a great marketing tool to showcase their work and get a piece of the growing ringtone business while providing consumers with the unique, custom content they want."
More information can be found at www.xingtone.com/mStore or by emailing mstore@xingtone.com.
About Xingtone
Based in Los Angeles, Xingtone brings mobile content, including music, images and videos, to wireless devices at the click of a button. The world's first wireless carrier-agnostic application, Xingtone's software is compatible with all open networks, including Sprint PCS, Cingular, AT&T Wireless, and T-Mobile, while supporting more than 100 handsets, among the most in the industry. The company's first product, Xingtone Ringtone Maker is the only legal, over-the-air (OTA) software application that allows users to easily create unlimited and personalized real music ringtones from their personal music library for mobile phones. The product is distributed via www.xingtone.com and will soon be available at numerous retail locations throughout North America.
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*According to the CTIA and Jupiter Research report, "Wireless Market Forecast, 2004 to 2009"
Media Contact:
Belinda Banks
S&S Public Relations
11 Penn Plaza
5th Floor
New York, NY 10001
212 946 2823
belinda@sspr.org |
