Word Records Launches Online Ringtone Store
Premier Christian record label Word Records announced last week its launching of the first ever online store for Christian ringtones.
Supporting AT&T Wireless, Cingular, Sprint PCS and T-Mobile, “Word Records Ringtown” (www.wordrecords.com) will feature more than 80 polyphonic (keyboard simulations), mastertones (album recordings) and voice ringtones from artists such as Nicole C. Mullen, Building 429, Mark Schultz, George Huff, Stellar Kart, Sixpence None The Richer, Salvador, David Phelps and others. Ringtones for Amy Grant, Randy Travis, Jaci Velasquez, Kristy Starling, Point Of Grace, Mute Math, and Rachael Lampa will be available later this spring.
Not only will the ringtones be available at the Word Records website but the label has also begun offering online ringtone stores for individual Christian artists, the first being launched for rock group Stellar Kart. (www.stellarkart.com).
Word Records ringtones are available in the following wireless providers: Sprint PCS, AT&T Wireless, Cingular, T-Mobile, Verizon, VirginMobile, Zingy (serving Nextel, MTV, Boost, AT&T, Ringtones 1.7, DOB, VH1, UPOC) AGMobile, ModTones, InfoSpace-Moviso (serving AllTell, Motorola, Samsung), 9Squared and Mobile365, with compatible phone models, manufacturers and carriers supported in the label and artist stores to be increased throughout the year.
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Word successfully launched Christian ringtones into the marketplace last summer, partnering with Mobile365 in support of Building 429's debut album, Space in Between Us. The CD, which incorporated wireless branding into the packaging, included a five digit "short code" that allowed U.S. Consumers to download the ringtone for "Glory Defined" drectly into their cell phones via text messaging. Word repeated the success with two othe album packages in 2004, The Best Of Sixpence None The Richer and George Huff's My Christmas EP!
“The success Warner Music Group is experiencing has allowed us to develop relationships with virtually every major wireless provider,” explains Dawn Gates, Manager of New Media for Word Records. “The response has been overwhelming and we’ve really just begun to scratch the surface. We’re excited to be blazing the trail for our industry and plan to launch the first widespread Christian artist wallpapers to providers in March.”
In addition to the label’s innovative response to the rapidly emerging ringtone market, Word is a pioneer for the Christian industry through their participation in the ringback tone services recently launched by T-Mobile and Verizon. Ringbacks allow individuals to select audio clips for the incoming callers to hear before a cell phone is answered. Notable is Word’s partnership with T-Mobile’s CallerTunes, where consumers have been receiving Sixpence’s “Kiss Me” as a bonus 30-day CallerTune with their service subscription. “Kiss Me” is the second bonus CallerTune offered in the T-Mobile service, following the initial program launch which featured Alicia Keys.
“The music business is a continually changing environment and the ringtone and cellular market represents a rapidly growing segment,” says Word Record’s Sr. Vice President Of Marketing, Rod Riley. “And we will continue to develop a marketing mix that embraces cutting-edge technology as a viable outlet to market our artists and their music.”
