Cingular to Debut Songs as Ringtones Before Radio
Reuters
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Cingular Wireless will debut new music singles from top artists as cell phone "ringtones" on its network before those songs make their traditional radio debut, the company said on Tuesday.
Cingular said it will launch the "Cingular Sounds" program with the new Coldplay track "Speed of Sound." The song does not release to radio until April 18 and the band's new album is not due until early June.
The ringtone market has exploded as a revenue stream for both wireless carriers and record labels, which see phones ringing with 30-second clips of their artists' songs as an easy and potentially lucrative way to promote music.
