Skype Ringtones a Prelude to iTunes Competitor?
In a smart youth oriented marketing move, Warner Music Group will make available master recordings from WMG’s roster of world-renowned recording artists as ringtones to the more than 74 million registered users of Skype.
Skype users will have access to music ringtones from artists including Madonna, Green Day, Mike Jones, and Paul Wall. Skype will feature new Madonna songs along with past Madonna hits like “Like A Virgin.”
What does this have to do with search? This is one of the first major partnerships announced by Skype since its acquisition by eBay. Mix eBay, Paypal, Skype and music downloads into a mixing bowl and the end result is massive potential for a Skype eBay powered music downloads store which uses such internal marketing tools as Ringtones and user to user suggestions and messaging. From Skype : “The Skype retail store is expected to eventually expand to include ringback tones and other music-based personalization content from WMG artists. ”
With Warner Music under its partnership belt, SkypeBay is now in a position to follow a path which will compete not only against Apple iTunes, but also upcoming and exisiting offerings from Google, Yahoo and Amazon.
“Warner Music Group is pleased to partner with Skype as they launch the first music personalization products in the Internet voice calling category,” said Alex Zubillaga, Executive Vice President, Digital Strategy and Business Development at Warner Music Group. “We are excited that more than 70 million Skype users around the world will now have the ability to enjoy content from Warner Music Group artists. Furthermore, this agreement exemplifies our commitment to finding new ways our artists’ music can be experienced across emerging platforms and distribution channels.”
“As Skype continues to grow as a mass market phenomena we are excited to partner with industry leaders in the entertainment industry like Warner Music, to offer great content from artists, such as Madonna, to Skype’s fast growing global user base,” said Saul Klein, Vice President Worldwide Marketing, Skype.
