Thumbplay Leverages Social Networks To Sell More Ringtones
Thumbplay, a New York-based mobile content provider, has launched a widget platform that allows artists and music labels to leverage social networks, like Twitter or MySpace, to sell ringtones and wallpapers. The platform, called OPEN Pro, can also be used by fans, who may want to link to their artist’s favorite song in a blog post they wrote about a concert. Release.
Analysis and results from a test case after the jump…
For Thumbplay, leveraging social networks and other sites to sell ringtones is a serious lead generator, which is important as ringtone sales decline. Here’s how the revenue side of the platform works: The platform is free to record labels and bands, who likely don’t have the resources to make their own storefronts for web sites and social networks (The platform also allows artists to add purchase links to websites, emails, Twitter, etc., in about five minutes). When consumers make a purchase, the artists and labels get paid for the content, and also potentially up to $8 for referring a customer — if the fan signs up for a monthly $10 subscription service. If the fan chooses to purchase one song, the label would be paid for only the content. Fans will not be paid at all.
Thumbplay says it’s been working well. OPEN originally launched in September 2008 for indie bands and has signed up more than 3,000 have joined up with no marketing efforts at all. Already, the OPEN Pro version has three of the four major labels testing the platform, and in a test case with Universal
I'm suprised to see this so late in the music and technology boom. I'd wondered often, why it wasn't a feature before, but it's good to see that it is an option now. Both as a consumer, and for the bands who can earn their living in another fashion technologically.
- NTFR
NTFR,
It has been an option for artists before, just not an option on Thumbplay. There are a whole bunch of sites that allow artists to do this. Moconews really only writes about public mobile companies and what "venture backed" mobile startups are doing… which is why you are only hearing about this now.
Appreciate it bud. I'm getting into a news mood lately, seeing as I never cared before while I was younger.
This is such NON-story. Thumbplay are really scraping the bottom of the barrel when they put our press releases like this. Ooh – "mobile" and "social networks"! 2 buzzwords that were exciting in about 2006. Question is why does Moconews faithfully report it, when there's much more interesting stuff they should be telling us about?