Media Release 28th August 2006

Telecom Ringtones and Caller Tunes Go Gold at Mobile Music Awards

Telecom NZ and Mercury Mobility are joining forces for the second year running to recognise the achievements of musicians in the mobile music market.

The New Zealand Mobile Music Awards are being held at the Metropolis Hotel on September 12.

The awards celebrate the number of downloads as either Tru Tone Ringtones or Caller Tunes that an artist has achieved over the previous 12 months. Just like vinyl and CDs, the sounds of ringing mobile phones now translate into the NZ Recording Industry equivalent of gold and platinum awards for sales of over 5,000 and 10,000 units respectively.

“Just a few years ago no-one would have thought there would be gold and platinum awards for mobile Ringtones and Caller Tunes,” says Chris Caddick, Managing Director, EMI/Virgin.

“These awards signify the effect that mobile music is having on the industry – it is transforming the way we listen to music, offering people music in any form they want, when they want.”

The number of people experiencing music via their mobile phones is growing phenomenally, according to Telecom’s General Manager Consumer Marketing, Kevin Bowler.

“We saw a need for Mobile Music Awards because mobile Ringtones and Caller Tunes are now just as valid a measure of an artist’s popularity as record sales,” he says.

“Along with Ringtones and Caller Tunes, our Telecom Music Store is also proving a very popular destination with our customers, so much so that over one million songs have been previewed by customers on their mobiles since the service launched.

“Mobile phones have well and truly become more than just a communication device; people can now take photos and movies, send and receive email and, most importantly in this instance, download and store music. The Mobile Music Awards recognise this by awarding those artists whose music has been downloaded the most.”

The Mobile Music Awards will be held at the Atlantis Bar, Metropolis Hotel at 5:00pm on Tuesday 12th September.

ENDS