Mobile Encyclopedia

Moving beyond the ringtone: Music, wireless sectors converge

Sep. 8–Yesterday’s unveiling of the new iPod/cellphone hybrid underscored a growing convergence between the music and wireless industries. The slim $249 device, which can store 100 songs, is a testament to how two distinctly different businesses are now joined in a quest for growth.

Hamstrung by falling CD sales, recording artists and record labels have found a new marketing vehicle in cellphones, which are as suited to playing music as they are for conversing. At the same time, wireless companies have spent billions building networks that deliver multimedia content to phones and now regard music — fromringtones to downloaded songs and videos — as an opportunity to increase revenues.

“We see a strong potential here,” said Cingular…