Comment: 5
[Add Comment]
Really Appealling! (by forestgum, Jul 18th, 2007) I am hooked with this tone, love it much. |
Bounce up !!!! (by kitty, Jul 9th, 2007) I like this sound cos of its nearly being like the hiphop sound. Good job. |
Appeals (by billyoung, Jul 9th, 2007) That sound is wonderful. |
Good (by nautin, Jul 8th, 2007) I think that It will be a good present for my friends. |
ahh huh!!! (by Mike, Jun 22nd, 2007) I wanna dance right now |
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Ring tones? VeriSign?
By JOHN J. LUMPKIN
Do you Jamster?
That's what VeriSign Inc. hopes people under 30 will be asking each other when
the company launches Jamster, its U.S. ring-tone service, in the first half of
2005.
Ring tones? VeriSign?
The Internet company, best known for technology that secures one-third of the
nation's online transactions, has tapped into a new growth engine by recently
acquiring a European company called Jamba, which provides ring tones to
cell-phone service providers.
Carriers offer the service to subscribers who want to listen to the latest hit
song every time their phone rings. In the U.S., the service is marketed under
the Jamster brand name.
"Everywhere I go, investors are asking about Jamba," said VeriSign Chief
Executive Stratton Sclavos, who visited CBS MarketWatch's offices this week.
Watch a video interview with Sclavos.
Although VeriSign reached the Jamba deal last June, it's only in recent weeks
that investors have begun to take an interest. Jamba's growth potential has been
cited as a major factor propelling VeriSign's stock about 80 percent higher
since mid-October. The shares were up 32 cents at $33.28 in Wednesday afternoon
trading.
Jamba's sales of ring tones and even screensavers of some of the more popular
artists totaled $75 million (mainly Britain and Germany) in the third quarter.
Revenue next year is estimated at $380 million to $400 million of sales, or
nearly a third of VeriSign's estimated total sales, according to Sclavos
"Jamster" doesn't mean anything in particular, but it's partly a twist on the
original name Jamba, said Sclavos. The name may also remind some people of
Napster, the music-swapping service that appeals to the same young demographic
Jamster is targeting.
If Sclavos has his way, Jamster would become part of the vernacular in the way
Google has, as in, "Have you Jamstered your phone?"
Sclavos says Jamba, which is advertised on MTV Europe, has proven popular with
14-to-29 year-olds. When music videos are played, a five-digit code pops up on
the TV screen. That code can be typed into a cell phone to get the song
automatically downloaded.
About 80 percent of European subscribers pay for the Jamba service as part of a
bundled subscription service.
In the United States, VeriSign has been testing subscription plans of $1.99 a
week for up to three song downloads with T-Mobile, AT&T and Cingular.
Since the service will just be launching in the U.S. market in the first half of
next year, Jamster isn't expected to be a big contributor to Jamba revenue until
2006.
The carriers are receptive. "Voice plans are getting competitive and carriers
need incremental revenue," Sclavos said.
The model in the U.S. is similar to that in Europe. Consumers pay a subscription
to their cell phone carrier providers. That subscription is divided among
VeriSign, the content producers and the carriers. Carriers receive 30 percent of
what consumers pay. Producers of the content get between 12 and 15 percent while
VeriSign keeps the rest.
Jamba is the second-largest advertiser on MTV Europe, spending $8 million to $10
million per quarter, Sclavos said. VeriSign is already promoting the service on
MTV, a unit of Viacom . Viacom is a significant investor in MarketWatch Inc.,
the publisher of this report.
By the end of 2005 and 2006, Sclavos said that VeriSign plans to broaden its
offerings into video clips. "Categories could include sports, movie trailers,
news on selected topics, music videos, etc.," Sclavos said. "This would be an
extension of the current Jamba platform. The service will be launched when we
feel the networks are fast enough and there are enough multimedia-capable
handsets."
You can receive this column via e-mail. Sign up for Bambi Francisco's
newsletters.
You can also subscribe to Net Sense, her weekly commentary.
See "Getting Google religion."
See "Free vs. subscription debate: online ads win."
See "Tomorrow's Internet." |