Sprint Picks Up Warner, Sony Acts For Pcs Service

Want to hear the new Michelle Branch single? Now it's only a phone call away.

The cell phone may not be replacing the iPod or Walkman anytime soon, but music geared for playback on wireless handsets is on the rise.

There is also increasing focus on the sound quality of music on cell phones.

Wireless carrier Sprint PCS is leading the way through deals with Warner Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment.

Sprint PCS has announced that its customers will be able to access full songs from WMG artists through a streaming music service.

In a separate deal, owners of Sprint phones can begin purchasing next-generation ring tones from Sony that are actual clips from songs.

The "song ringers" from Sony mark the first time a U.S. cell-phone carrier has offered licensed clips from actual recordings. Typical "polyphonic" ring tones are instrumental rerecordings of songs.

Sony will also be offering "animated ringers"—polyphonic ring tones synchronized with animated graphics—as well as other artist-related applications.

WMG's venture into full-song streaming is an expansion of an existing subscription service the major currently offers to Sprint customers—access to 30-second sound clips from WMG acts for $3.99 per month.

Michael Nash, WMG senior VP of Internet strategy and business development, says that the addition of full-song streams indicates that the major sees a revenue opportunity in wireless beyond ring tones.

Sweet Spot

"It plays into the sweet spot of data services," he says, noting that mobile phone customers are looking for such quick entertainment programming features as music and games.

Sprint says both the clips and full songs are geared toward material that has not yet been released in stores.

WMG will make dozens of songs available for full streams from artists including Jaci Velasquez, Jason Mraz, Matchbox Twenty, Michelle Branch, Third Eye Blind and Staind.

Nash says the goal is to line up the mobile music experience against the traditional marketing promotion cycle for new albums.

Driving Album Sales

"Part of this formulation is to drive the purchase of albums," Nash says. "The thinking is: While we have a single at radio, we make a ring tone of the same track available to mobile subscribers and on the streaming music service."

The moves come as music commerce on cell phones is growing.

Sprint reports that since the launch last year of its "PCS Vision" wireless network, the company has sold more than 10 million ringtones and screen savers, at a cost of $1.50-$2.50 each.

The hope is that the introduction of song ringers, which are of better sound quality than polyphonic ring tones, will help the ring tone business grow even further.

Thomas Gewecke, senior VP of Sony Music Digital Services, calls song ringers "an entirely new dimension of the mobile music experience."

He believes that song ringers will be a popular feature among wireless users in the U.S. looking to further personalize their phones.

Music will soon be available on Sprint phones though a newly launched music channel: PCS Music Vision Channel.

The channel features several hundred music-oriented ringers for sale, as well as recommendations and information on artists and new releases.

Sprint reports 1.3 million subscribers to its PCS Vision network as of the end of the first quarter.