July 21, 2006

DIGITAL MUSIC NEWS DAILY SNAPSHOT
Paul Resnikoff, Editor
DIY Ringtone Provider Woos Independent Artists

Ringtones are attention-grabbing and identity-defining, but what if your favorite band lacks a mobile jingle? A number of do-it-yourself options already exist for both consumers and artists, and more entrants are getting into the game. Just recently, Deerfield Beach, FL-based mVisible Technologies delivered an artist-focused ringtone e-commerce solution called MyxerTags. The application allows artists to position tones from their own website or MySpace page, and all major carriers are supported. "Mobile carriers do not have the time or the desire to deal with thousands of independent artists directly," explained Myk Willis, CTO of mVisible.

mVisible faces a great deal of competition, including from heavyweight Cingular Wireless. The Cingular Mobile Music Studio, announced during the previous quarter, allows unsigned artists and bands to convert their music into ringtones. The offering is positioned exclusively within MySpace.

Others jockeying in the space include Xingtone, an LA-based firm that offers both consumer- and artist-based DIY ringtone options. But Myxer has pointed to early progress. Since its initial offering in March, the company reports that 100,000 users have downloaded more than 150,000 ringtones from Myxer.

Each ringtone is free to create, and Myxer takes a cut of any future sales.