A tiny company called Xingtone says it has developed technology that lets people load digital songs onto cell phones, but admits the software may hit a sour note with the embattled music industry.
The software converts MP3 files onto wireless phones, which would take the current ring-tone phenomenon one step beyond providing the robotic sounding renditions of tunes currently playing on phones.
Selling ring tones, or musical jingles on cell phones, is giving the music industry, entrenched in a prolonged sales slump, a boost as it struggles amid a booming black market for illegal online file-swapping.
And with the ring-tone market expanding, many companies are now expanding into polyphonic ring-tones, which consist of more than just one note, as well as preparing for the time when actual songs can be played on the cell phones.
Some of the world’s biggest music labels, like EMI have already licensed master recordings to wireless operators across Europe and Asia, which are expected to launch as services on new handsets this spring.
| TechNews.tk | TechBoard.tk |
