With the recent steroids probe by the Albany Times Union, the news that Wyclef Jean has a few exclusive new partnerships has been overshadowed. The artist, humanitarian and ex-member of The Fugees announced that he is working with Motorola to promote and distribute exclusive material.
“I’ve got to find a new way to introduce my music,” says Jean. “I might do 60 or 70 songs for an album, but I can only put 20 on the album. So the idea that I can promote music through a telephone, it’s great. It allows me to get out new music.”
After some initial talks with the company during January’s Consumer Electronics Show, Jean made the deal official. While nearly every artist and most fans are familiar with ringtones and the amount of money they generate, Wyclef tells Stuart Dredge of Yahoo News that he is more interested in whole songs than the standard 30-second clip most cell phone carriers offer.
“You have to be a great musician,” adds Jean. “But it’s important to still learn the technology, because you don’t want to get left behind. I want to test the sonics, so the song still sounds like you want it to sound. If you get that perfect mix for the cell phone, it’s gonna sound hot on a real system.”
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In addition to his deal with Motorola, Wyclef has also struck a partnership with Matt Damon. Jean will score the music for the documentary Running the Sahara. The documentary was narrated and executive produced by Damon to raise awareness for his H20 Africa initiative. Running the Sahara focuses on three renowned marathon runners, who take on a 111 day expedition to raise awareness for Africa’s water crisis.
