Hip-hop music has dominated nearly every aspect of media in recent years. In 2005, the genre that “started out in the park” hopes to take over the cell phone game as well.
According to a Vibe.com article, over 70% of ring tones purchased last year were form hip-hop or R&B artists. Peter Gaston, The Mobile Editor and Producer of Vibe/Spin ventures believe that hip-hop fans are naturally attracted to the hottest new technological trends.
“They’re always up on the latest handsets and they want the freshest content on their phones,”Gaston said. “Last month’s top hit just isn’t good enough. Since these cutting-edge mobile consumers already love hip hop, it’s no surprise that urban ring tones are doing so much business.”
Recent months have also seen several record companies enter the ring tone game. Among them is industry heavy weight Def Jam Records, which began Def Jam Mobile with American Greetings. The company will offer several services including celebrity voices, film clips and polyphonic ring tones.
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Gaston also speculates that artist themselves will enter the ring tone game, in an attempt to further brand themselves.
“I think you’ll start to see more and more savvy artists extend their own personal brands into the mobile arena to start earning some extra paper outside their record label deals,”Gaston says of the growing genre. “Not necessarily through music content, but with voice tones, image downloads and other exclusives.”
