Sprint PCS Lets the Music Play

Sprint's wireless PCS Group has signed deals with major music labels owned by AOL Time Warner and Sony to deliver music content over mobile phones, the companies said Monday in separate statements.

Under its deal with Sprint PCS, Warner Music Group will provide full-length streamed music tracks, expanding its initial 30-second clip streaming service launched in January, the companies said in a joint statement. As part of the mobile operator's new PCS Vision Music Channel, customers will also be able to purchase Warner Music artist information, video clips, and the industry's first joke ringers, beginning in mid-July.

Warner Music was the first music company to provide Sprint PCS with a wide variety of music products, including ring tones and streamed clips of new and pre-released music, and to launch a wireless streaming music-subscription service, the companies said.

More Music

In a complementary move to boost its music content, Sprint PCS also signed on with Sony Music Entertainment to supply animated polyphonic ringers, song clips, and specialized sound and voice recordings, the companies said in a joint statement.

Sprint PCS currently offers several hundred polyphonic ringers in a wide range of music categories, animated ringers and voice ringers in both English and Spanish, according to the mobile operator. The new agreement with Sony Music Entertainment expands this catalog with differentiated content, available on select Java-enabled PCS Vision phones, it said.

The new Sony and Warner content and features are part of Sprint PCS Vision's Premium Pack, which is available for $15 per month. The package includes unlimited access to the PCS Vision Web and text messaging and $10 per month in premium applications, such as games, ringers, and screensavers.