Vodafone hits right note with Sony
MOBILE phone giant Vodafone today said it had signed up Japan's Sony Music Entertainment in a deal to let customers download music ringtones and watch video clips from artists such as Anastacia and AC/DC.
Vodafone Group Plc, the world's top mobile phone group by revenue, said Sony Music would beef up its Vodafone live! multimedia phones with real music and more polyphonic ringtones, artist images, video streaming and short video downloads.
Vodafone said the deal, which will also bring artists such as pop star Jessica Simpson and rap-rock outfit Incubus to its phones, would be initially available in 15 countries and would help fire up mobile music services as it continues to roll out faster, third-generation phones across its empire this year.
In a battle to generate fresh revenue streams, electronics and telecoms companies have started to bring live music services to mobile phones, which can already be souped up with built-in video recorders, digital cameras, organisers, games and health monitors.
