Warner Music to Offer Ringtones For Skype

By Geoff Duncan January 30, 2006

Warner Music Group announced today it has agreed to make selected music tracks available as master recording ringtones to users of the Skype Internet telephony service.

The move marks the first distribution agreement between a major music distributor and an Internet-based voice service, but its hardly surprisingly given that the majority of digital music revenues stem from sales of ringtones to mobile phone users. As independent Skype-enabled handsets come to market (typically accessing Skype via Wi-Fi networks), Warner Music Groups is clearly betting that some of Skype’s 74 million worldwide users will want to pimp out their Skype telephony experience in the same ways users customize their mobile phones.

Ringtone selections will feature Warner Music Group artists including Madonna, Green Day, Mike Jones, Paul Wall, and D4L, with Madonna set to be the first exclusive “Featured Artist” at the Skype online retail store. The Featured Artist section will spotlight content from a particular artist and provide a direct link to an artist-branded page where the ringtones can be purchased.

“We are excited that more than 70 million Skype users around the world will now have the ability to enjoy content from Warner Music Group artists. Furthermore, this agreement exemplifies our commitment to finding new ways our artists’ music can be experienced across emerging platforms and distribution channels,” said Alex Zubillaga, WMGs’ Executive VP of Digital Strategy and Business Development.

No details of pricing or availability have been released. Ringtones currently available via the Skype online retail store are typically priced at

Editors' Recommendations

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Geoff Duncan writes, programs, edits, plays music, and delights in making software misbehave. He's probably the only member…

Smart Home

Ring Battery Doorbell Plus offers improved battery life and new aspect ratio

The Ring Battery Doorbell Plus installed outside a front door.

Ring has amassed a sizable catalog of video doorbells over the years, and it’s adding another to its roster later this year with the Ring Battery Doorbell Plus. Available to preorder today and shipping on April 5, the latest video doorbell builds on the legacy of Ring’s original battery-powered doorbell -- offering heaps of great features, a reasonable price, and shockingly long battery life.

Battery life is always a concern with battery-powered video doorbells, as there’s nothing worse than having to constantly unplug and recharge your gear. Ring is hoping to make that process a bit less frustrating, as the Battery Doorbell Plus offers battery life that’s three times better than the original.

Smart Home

How to use Multi-Room Music with Amazon Alexa

Amazon Echo (4th Gen) on a kitchen counter.

If you’ve built up a small army of Amazon Echo devices over the years, you should consider turning them into a surround system to fill your entire smart home with music. Amazon has given many of its devices the ability to sync their performance together with a feature known as Multi-Room Music, allowing you to quickly pump out tunes through every compatible device in your home. What’s even more impressive is how simple it is to use.

Here's how to use Multi-Room Music on your Amazon Echo devices, along with a few tips to customize and optimize its performance.

Smart Home

Blink Wired Floodlight Camera offers heaps of features and an affordable price tag

The Blink Wired Floodlight installed outside.

Blink, an Amazon-owned company that produces a wide variety of smart home gadgets, today announced the Blink Wired Floodlight Camera. The affordable device clocks in at just $99 yet manages to offer 1080p video capture, 2,600 lumens of LED lighting, motion detection, and several other premium features.

While Blink’s catalog is comprised of several indoor and outdoor cameras, this is the company’s first true floodlight. Previously, homeowners needed to purchase a Floodlight Mount for the Blink Outdoor Camera, and even then they would only benefit from 700 lumens of LED lights. The Blink Wired Floodlight Camera, meanwhile, is a standalone product that doesn’t require a secondary purchase -- pick it up for $99, and you’re ready for installation.