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Emilio Estefan to Produce Mobile Songs, Ring Tones
November 04, 2005
By Cara Marcano
Emilio Estefan has signed an exclusive contract to produce Latino-targeted mobile phone music for wireless provider BarrioMobile, the U.S. Hispanic sister brand to BlingTones, a wireless music record label based in New York.
Under the terms of the deal, Estefan will provide BarrioMobile with original 30-second ring tones as well as full-length songs exclusively for use on mobile phones, says Jonathan Dworkin, vice president of artist and repertoire for Lagardere Active North America. Financial terms of the partnership were not disclosed.
As part of the year-long contract, which includes the option of an extension, Estefan will also produce original ring backs. Unlike ring tones, which are heard by the person being called, ring backs are songs heard by the caller. They can be personalized for different calls to different cell phone numbers.
Unlike commercial record labels, which to date have focused on licensing already produced content for adaptation to cell phones, BarrioMobile is the first music label to offering original content for direct distribution to wireless providers, says Dworkin.
"Most people are going to Universal Records or some other label or publisher and licensing previously released records, snipping them up and making them into ring tones," he says.
The company has already signed deals with popular Hispanic artists including Pitbull, Tego Calderón, Don Dinero, Yerba Buena, Cuban Link and Louie Vega.
As ring tones become less expensive and technology adapts to allow consumers to download entire songs to their mobile phones, BarrioMobile is banking that its original content such as Estefan’s will enable the company to continue charging a premium for ring tones.
"Right now people are still mystified by the fact that you can download any music to your phone. But that is going to change," says Dworkin. Ring tones are going to get cheaper and i-tunes are going to get more expensive. People are scared of the day when you can download an entire Usher song for 99 cents to your phone, and then what are all these ring tone companies charging $2.99 for a ring tone going to do?"
Original content, he says, eliminates that dilemma.
Hispanics are much more likely than members of the general market to spend on wireless services. The average monthly cell phone bill for Hispanics is $67, or 25 percent higher than that of non-Hispanic whites, according to research from BarrioMobile.
No advertisers have signed on yet, but the possibilities for premium, sponsored content are obvious, says Dworkin.
No advertisers have signed on yet, but the possibilities for premium, sponsored content are obvious, says Dworkin. BarrioMobile is currently in talks with car manufacturers to offer a Hispanic-friendly ring tone that mimics the sound of a particular car engine. He says companies also could sponsor giveaways or sweepstakes offering the ring tones as free music representing their brands.
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