JERUSALEM and LONDON -- 07/10/07 --
Vringo, the pioneer in video ringtone
sharing, announced today that it had entered into a trial licensing
agreement with
Universal Music Group
(UMG), the world's largest music company. Under this agreement, Vringo
subscribers will be able to personalize their own
video ringtones, or "Vringos," using
clips from some of the most popular videos in UMG's collection.
Vringos are associated with the caller, not the called phone. Subscribers
to the Vringo service use a buddy list to deliver a 2- to 10-second
personalized video clip announcing the caller to the person being called.
For example, a Vringo subscriber can select a video clip of Rihanna's "SOS"
to appear on all called parties' phones at the start of a call, or they can
send a different Vringo to each individual. Vringos let subscribers share
their enthusiasm for a great singer, movie or sports figure -- or simply
share a memory, a laugh or a moment caught on the phone's camera.
Users select their Vringo clips through the phone or online, and from a
variety of premium content. They may also download promotional clips at no
cost, or generate their own free clips with the phone's video camera. As
soon as a user selects and sends a clip, it is downloaded to all buddies'
phones.
Vringos can be pushed to any subscriber in the Vringo community with a
compatible wireless phone. The Vringo medium -- along with its multimedia
messages -- is expected to spread virally through friends, interest groups,
fan groups and social networks, and to serve the interests of content
providers and carriers as well as mobile phone customers. If deployed as
part of an advertising or subscription-based revenue model, promotional
Vringos can be accompanied by click-through-purchase screens that take
orders for the CD, DVD or movie ticket associated with the clip.
"The Universal Music Group videos being delivered to Vringo customers
showcase the world's most popular artists and musicians, performing their
landmark hits," said Rob Wells, senior vice president-Digital, Universal
Music Group International. "We are pleased to make our artists available to
an even wider and more connected worldwide audience through this service."
"Vringo is proud to be able to include Universal Music Group's content in
the Vringo catalogue," said Jon Medved, Vringo CEO. "It will give
subscribers access to some of the most compelling and popular material in
the world today. We expect Universal Music's content to strongly resonate
with the Vringo user base."
UMG has formatted its music videos to meet Vringo requirements in download
speed and the mobile handset's screen resolution and size. The licensed
clips represent the top 20 video sales in UMG's collection and range from
Snoop Dogg's "Drop It Like It's Hot," to Rihanna's "SOS," Sugababes' "Push
The Button," 50 Cent's "Outta Control," "Candy Shop" and "Just A Lil Bit,"
Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit," Mario Winans' "I Don't Wanna Know,"
and Guns N' Roses' "Sweet Child O' Mine."
Clips from these videos are now available to Vringo beta users via mobile
handsets and can be acquired online by registered trial participants at
vringo.com.
About Vringo
Vringo is the world's first video ringtone sharing community. The company
is making Personalization 2.0 a reality by enabling users to experience
rich media no matter which mobile device they are using -- and for the first
time to share that media with others within a community.
Vringo was co-founded in 2006 by venture capitalist Jon Medved, now chief
executive officer, and mobile software expert David Goldfarb, now chief
technology officer. Vringo's management team comes from leading companies
as diverse as Comverse, NMS Communications, Siemens, IDT, Earthlink and
Shopping.com. Vringo Chairman of the Board Dan Ciporin was CEO and chairman
of Shopping.com, until it was sold to eBay. Vringo is backed by private
investors.
About Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group is the world's largest music company with wholly
owned record operations or licensees in 77 countries. Its businesses also
include Universal Music Publishing Group, one of the industry's largest
global music publishing operations.
Universal Music Group consists of record labels Decca Label Group, Deutsche
Grammophon, Interscope Geffen A&M Records, Geffen Records, Island Def Jam
Music Group, Lost Highway Records, Machete Music, MCA Nashville, Mercury
Nashville, Mercury Records, Philips, Polydor Records, Universal Music
Latino, Universal Motown Records Group, Universal Records South and Verve
Music Group, as well as a multitude of record labels owned or distributed
by its record company subsidiaries around the world. The Universal Music
Group owns the most extensive catalog of music in the industry, which is
marketed through two distinct divisions, Universal Music Enterprises (in
the U.S.) and Universal Strategic Marketing (outside the U.S.). Universal
Music Group also includes eLabs, a new media and technologies division, and
Universal Music Mobile.
Universal Music Group is a unit of Vivendi, a global media and
communications company.
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Contact:
Sue Huss
Comunicano
619-379-4396
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