Date:31/03/2006 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2006/03/31/stories/2006033103580400.htm

Back Truetones is the next in-thing

Our Bureau

Bangalore , March 30

Truetones, bits of a song track that can be downloaded and used as ring and ring-back tones in mobiles, will revolutionise mobiles and bring legalised music into fashion, according to Soundbuzz. While music in the mobile space is currently offered in the form of ring and ring back tones, the next stage is truetones, music video streaming and full track 3G downloads, said Mr Sudhanshu Sarronwala, CEO, Soundbuzz Pte, Singapore.

The company has an office in Mumbai and is headquartered at Singapore, where its database of 40,000 ring and ring-back tones resides. The company obtains licences for content distribution from record companies. With digital rights management (DRM), Soundbuzz ensures download of original songs in suitable formats such as MP3 or AAC. The company has 40-50 distribution channels across the world.

Truetones would standardise in the next quarter, said Mr Mandar Thakur, General Manager, Soundbuzz India. The ring tone business is a high volume commodity one, with a global average of 15 million downloads every month, he said.