Madonna Goes Mobile with Timbaland and Justin Timberlake Part 2

In my previous post, I informed you that Madonna has also gone music mobile! Now I wanted to highlight some of the key marketing ideas from that article. Check out all the marketing tools that Timbaland and Verizon Wireless have come up with:

1. Do a "underground" remix: Madonna, Timbaland and Justin Timberlake did a mobile underground remix of Madonna's highly- anticipated debut single "4 Minutes" from her upcoming album "HARD CANDY."

2. Be exclusive: The Madonna, Timbaland, Justin Timberlake remix is available exclusively in the U.S. to Verizon Wireless' V CAST Music customers and internationally to Vodafone customers. By being exclusive, Verizon Wireless hopes to attract new customers.

3. Promote your album: This remix was done to promote Madonna's 11th studio album which is scheduled for both international and U.S. release in April 2008.

4. Make the remix available in different formats: Verizon Wireless knows that not everbody likes ringtones, so they have offered the song in different versions: as a full-song download, ringtone and ringback tone.

5. Make the remix available internationally: Verizon Wireless also hooked up with Vodafone to provide Vodafone customers in several different countries the opportunity to download this new remix.

6. Mobility means anytime anywhere: Because Timbaland's mobile recording studio is just that, mobile, the remix was created on the Verizon Wireless mobile recording studio bus in New York City last month, after Madonna's induction ceremony into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

7. Offer fans concert tickets through the fans' mobile phones: Verizon Wirelss then took its marketing campaign a step farther and now fans who download the full-song, ringtone or ringback tone of Timbaland's exclusive mobile underground remix of "4 Minutes" through Verizon Wireless' V CAST Music service will also have a chance to win a barcoded ticket to the exclusive Madonna performance on April 30 at New York's famed Roseland Ballroom. Lucky winners will receive tickets on their mobile phones, which will admit them and one friend to this exclusive show.


8. Promote an upcoming concert or performance: As previously mentioned, Madonna will perform on April 30 at New York's famed Roseland Ballroom. Now customers who bought the ringtone who won the contest will receive tickets on their mobile phones, which will admit them and one friend to the exclusive performance.

9. An album promotes other producers: Interestingly, every time an album is released, not only is the name of the producer of the first single mentioned but all of the heavy hitting producers that are involved in the album are mentioned. So not only is Timbaland's production being recognized but so is Justin Timberlake, Pharrell Williams of the Neptunes, and Nate "Danja" Hills. So if you get hot producers, drop names of other producers since those other producers have fans too.

10. From studio to fans: Timbaland mentioned that with Verizon Wireless, he was able to create and distribute music straight from the studio directly to fans as well as give them access into his creative process behind-the-scenes. Notice that he credited Verizon Wireless and not a music label.

11. Mobile reaches millions in minutes: this whole venture with Verizon Wireless, Timbaland, and now Vodafone will set a new precedence for the global release of a song, with a combined reach of hundreds of millions of fans across the globe via their cellphones.

11. Promote the video of the recording session: Exclusive video footage of Madonna, Timbaland and Justin Timberlake's "mobile remix" recording session is now available on Verizon Wireless' V CAST Video service.

12. Encourage fans to send text messages: Fans wanting to download Timbaland's mobile underground remix of "4 Minutes," were encouraged to text MADONNA to 8933.



13. Get fans involved: Verizon encouraged its customers to also come into the store, call, or visit the website to get more information on V CAST Music from Verizon Wireless and the company's mobile producer in residence program.



14. Get your own website: You can't do this type of marketing and promotion on MySpace without MySpace getting a cut. Get your own website! Link your site to the site of the company you are working with. Verizon Wireless was able to tell fans of Timbaland, Madonna, Justin Timberlake, the producer in residence program, and their music program to visit their website. I say get your own website!




Thedy B, Attorney/Songwriter
Hits A Million, LLC
myspace.com/hitsamillionllc
hitsamillion.blogspot.com
hitsamillion.ning.com

Madonna Goes Mobile With Timbaland, Justin Timberlake and Verizon Wireless!

BASKING RIDGE, N.J., and NEWBURY, United Kingdom, April 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Verizon Wireless today announced it has teamed up with Madonna, Timbaland and Justin Timberlake to deliver the mobile underground remix of Madonna's highly- anticipated debut single "4 Minutes" from her upcoming album "HARD CANDY." Available exclusively in the U.S. to Verizon Wireless' V CAST Music customers and internationally to Vodafone customers, "4 Minutes" is the first single from Madonna's 11th studio album for Warner Bros. Records. "HARD CANDY" is scheduled for international release on April 28, 2008, with the U.S. release the following day.

Starting today, the underground version of the song is available to Verizon Wireless customers through V CAST Music as a full-song download, ringtone and ringback tone. This exclusive Madonna track produced by Timbaland, Verizon Wireless' mobile producer in residence, and featuring Justin Timberlake is available for download to Vodafone customers in Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, India, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Turkey, and the UK. This extraordinary remix was created on the Verizon Wireless mobile recording studio bus in New York City last month, following Madonna's induction ceremony into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Fans who download the full-song, ringtone or ringback tone of Timbaland's exclusive mobile underground remix of "4 Minutes" through Verizon Wireless' V CAST Music service will also have a chance to win a barcoded ticket to the exclusive Madonna performance on April 30 at New York's famed Roseland Ballroom. Lucky winners will receive tickets on their mobile phones, which will admit them and one friend to this exclusive show.

"HARD CANDY" is the follow up to Madonna's "CONFESSIONS ON A DANCE FLOOR" which debuted at number one in 30 countries and has sold more than 8 million copies to date. "HARD CANDY" has been described as a brilliant up-tempo collection of 12 songs in which Madonna remains ensconced in club mode, but this time adds an urban hip-hop beat in collaboration with musical partners Timbaland, Justin Timberlake, Pharrell Williams of the Neptunes, and Nate "Danja" Hills.

"Working with Madonna and Justin on this underground mobile remix has been a lot of fun," said Timbaland. "With Verizon Wireless, we are able to create and distribute music straight from the studio directly to fans as well as give them access into our creative process behind-the-scenes."

"As Madonna is one of the most iconic artists of our time and Timbaland is one of the most influential producers of today, we are undeniably excited to team up with them, as well as Justin, to deliver this exclusive remix to our customers," said Ed Ruth, director of digital music for Verizon. "Together with Vodafone, we will set a new precedence for the global release of a song, with a combined reach of hundreds of millions of fans across the globe via their cellphones."

Madonna, a multi GRAMMY® Award-winning singer, songwriter, producer, cultural icon, world-renowned stage performer, video visionary, children's book author, director, and documentary filmmaker, has sold 200 million albums in the course of her unprecedented two decade-plus career and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on March 10, 2008.

In addition to Madonna's original "4 Minutes" track, co-produced by Timbaland and Justin Timberlake and Nate "Danja" Hills, and the underground mobile remix available on Verizon Wireless' V CAST Music and Vodafone, exclusive video footage of Madonna, Timbaland and Justin Timberlake's "mobile remix" recording session is now available on Verizon Wireless' V CAST Video service.

For more information on how to download Timbaland's mobile underground remix of "4 Minutes," fans can text MADONNA to 8933. For more information on V CAST Music from Verizon Wireless and the company's mobile producer in residence program, visit a Verizon Wireless Communications Store, call 1-800-2 JOIN IN or go to www.verizonwireless.com/music.

About Verizon Wireless

Verizon Wireless operates the nation's most reliable wireless voice and data network, serving 65.7 million customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with 69,000 employees nationwide, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ - News) and Vodafone (NYSE and LSE: VOD - News News). For more information, go to: www.verizonwireless.com. To preview and request broadcast- quality video footage and high-resolution stills of Verizon Wireless operations, log on to the Verizon Wireless Multimedia Library at www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia.

About Vodafone

Vodafone is the world's leading international mobile communications group with over 252 million proportionate customers as at 31st December 2007. Vodafone currently has equity interests in 25 countries across five continents and a further 40 partner networks worldwide. For more information, please visit www.vodafone.com.

Thedy B, Attorney/Songwriter
Hits A Million, LLC
myspace.com/hitsamillionllc
hitsamillion.blogspot.com
hitsamillion.ning.com

Keri Hilson & Timbaland's first mobile album ringtone!

As I've been discussing in my previous posts, Timbaland will be recording a new track and song with a guest artist in Timbaland's Verizon Wireless Mobile Recording Studio Bus. Keri Hilson is his first guest artist. To see the video of the mobile recording studio, click here.

If you are unfamiliar with Keri Hilson, Keri Hilson is a member of The Clutch and a successful songwriter on her own who has written over 200 songs and wrote hits for many, many artists. (Read Keri Hilson's biography and discography here). She is working on her solo album entitled In a Perfect World.


Now, for this joint venture with Timbaland and Verizon Wireless, Keri Hilson recorded a new single entitled Get it Girl. If you'd like to buy the new ringtone that was produced by Timbaland and recorded by Keri Hilson, click here. I've heard Get it Girl and it's hot!!!!!! If you wanna hear the song too, check it out:



This song will be featured on Timbaland's mobile album but not on Keri Hilson's solo album, In a Perfect World.


Thedy B, Attorney/Songwriter
Hits A Million, LLC
myspace.com/hitsamillionllc
hitsamillion.blogspot.com
hitsamillion.ning.com

Timbaland's Mobile Album Part 2

Did you see Timbaland's Verizon Wireless Mobile Recording Studio I posted in my previous post? I personally think that that studio is hot!

In my last post, I was able to find some general information about Timbaland's mobile recording studio and his mobile album that he's creating in the mobile studio. But that post brought up a lot of questions for me. Questions like: what is a mobile album? Does Timbaland's deal with Verizon Wireless mean he's no longer working with Interscope Records? Will Timbaland get a "mobile album deal?" What kind of music will Timbaland produce and create for this mobile album? Which guest artist will Timbaland work with? Well, I found the answers to those questions from this article provided by billboard.com:

Timbaland says the deal will let him reach more fans because "every place don't get a CD [but] everybody has a mobile phone." Plus, there's history to be made. "Just producing a mobile album has never been done. I'm the first to ever do it," he tells Billboard.



And while major artists have of late left major labels in bids to reach fans in new ways, Timbaland isn't leaving Interscope, which put out "Shock Value" and distributes his Mosley Music imprint. (However, he says he is out of contract with the label to put out his solo albums.) Interscope is involved in the Verizon deal from the standpoint that Timbaland plans to work with the label's artists for the mobile-only tracks. Whether a mobile album deal could replace a major-label deal in the future, "that's something we'll have to see," Timbaland says.Each mobile Timbaland track will be released days after it is produced. Songs will be released as a full-length download, ringtone and ringback, and will be available only through V Cast and Verizon. At the end of the year, some sort of compilation "album" will be released exclusively through Verizon, according to Ruth. Whether the music is worked to radio during the exclusive period or made available via broader distribution afterward is up to Interscope.




For his part, Timbaland says he isn't focusing on a particular genre for the project. "I'm just going to have fun with it," he says. "I'll just do what comes in mind."The partnership kicks off today with a pre-Grammy party co-hosted by Verizon and People magazine. During the event, Timbaland will debut the first Verizon song, which features Mosley Music artist Keri Hilson. Timbaland and Hilson recorded two tracks during a three-week period last month, one of which will be introduced at the party and go mobile within a few days.Timbaland hasn't yet revealed what other artists he will be working with for the project, but Ruth says some of those on the party's guest list will be involved. That roster includes fellow Mosley Music act OneRepublic, Paramore, Flo Rida, Natasha Bedingfield, Taylor Swift and Chris Cornell, who will perform.

What a lineup! What a great opportunity! What a great concept! I'm not a Verizon Wireless customer but I'd be interested in hearing the mobile album. Hopefully, Verizon Wireless will make this album available to non-Verizon Wireless customers and hopefully, it will also work in conjunction with independent producers and artists and give them the same opportunity.

Thedy B, Attorney/Songwriter
Hits A Million, LLC
myspace.com/hitsamillionllc
hitsamillion.blogspot.com
hitsamillion.ning.com

Timbaland's making a mobile album!

In my previous post, I posted the video of Timbaland in his new Verizon Wireless Mobile Recording Studio Bus. Here's some more details about Timbaland's deal with Verizon Wireless:


In March, well-known rapper Timbaland started to record a mobile album by literally creating tracks while on the go. This is part of a new program organized by Verizon Wireless that it calls Mobile Producer in Residence. For a year, Timbaland will record an entire album—what is being called the first mobile album—on the Verizon Mobile Recording Studio Bus. Only Verizon Wireless customers will be offered the ability to view the results through V CAST Music.

Every month, Timbaland will record a new track along with a guest artist. While he tours through various cities, Verizon said fans will get to see recording sessions either in person or from their mobile phones.

I personally think this is a hot mobile marketing campaign both for Timbaland and Verizon. It is also cutting edge and just highlights the future of the music business and where the music business is headed. Companies and artists will be continue to working together to take advantage of both advertising dollars and music industry dollars. I look forward to seeing how it works out. If it is successful, and I think it will be a big success for both Timbaland and Verizon, perhaps more businesses, especially more mobile companies, will invent even more ways to go music mobile!

Thedy B, Attorney/Songwriter
Hits A Million, LLC
myspace.com/hitsamillionllc
hitsamillion.blogspot.com
hitsamillion.ning.com

Timbaland Goes Mobile!

Verizon Wireless and Timbaland have teamed up! Check out the video below of him and Keri Hilson in his Verizon Wireless Mobile studio! In this mobile studio, Timbaland shows you all the equipment he uses to make his music. From this studio, Timbaland released his first 'Verizon Producer In Residence' exclusive ringtone! Keri Hilson - "Get It Girl"
To get the ringtone click http://products.vzw.com/dl.aspx?type=...

The Danish allow customer's unlimited access to music downloads on their mobile phones

Check out this article that was published last week: it discusses how the Danish is now allowing customers unlimited access to music downloads from local and international acts. The customer can play the songs until he or she terminates their mobile phone service. I really don't know how that's going to work since most phones allow you to transfer your files from your phone to your computer. . . . As a songwriter, I'm very concerned about this but as you'll see the major record labels are for it. The labels would be for it since they are eagerly trying to reduce the royalty rates. How can a company pay all those artists from just a low subscription fee? I think they should instead do like TV and Internet satellite radio shows: a TV satellite customer has access to the songs and can listen to them but not download them. We'll see how this develops. . . .

"Revolutionary" new music service from TDC…
POSTED: Wednesday, April 02, 2008
FROM BLOG: IntoMobile - The latest mobile technology news and reviews.

TDC is offering a new, ground-breaking music service that offers their Danish mobile and broadband customers unlimited access to music downloads from renowned local and international acts, without additional charge.


Three of the world's major music companies and a large number of Danish music companies are part of TDC's new music service called PLAY, which launched at midnight on April 1, 2008.
TDC's and YouSee's broadband and mobile customers - with the exception of a few subscriptions types - will be able to download more than one million tracks from artists such as Red Hot Chili Peppers, REM, Ida Corr, James Blunt, Anne Linnet, Bruce Springsteen, Outlandish, L.O.C, Robbie Williams,TV2, Szhirley and many, many more.


At present, TDC has entered into agreements with three of the four largest international music companies, EMI, SONY BMG and Warner Music Denmark as well as many Danish independent labels including the MBO group, DIGIDI, Artpeople, Clockwize, House of Scandinavia. The agreements cover both new and catalogue releases.


Under the terms of the deals, the ability to play the downloaded tracks will expire automatically if the customer terminates their subscription. TDC will also offer music fans the opportunity to purchase their favourite tracks for 8dkk (approx. €1) per download.


Jens Alder explains the rationale for the launch of PLAY with the fact that both the mobile and broadband market are more or less saturated, and that there is a need for new thinking for telcos to attract more customers.